


you'd look pretty good (on me)

by headlesscardinal



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alcohol, Canon divergence to make it fit the story better, Canon-Typical Violence, Drugs, Eventual Smut, F/F, Femslash, Lesbian sole survivor, Mystery, Rated M because it's fallout
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-03-01 14:36:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 108,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13296945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/headlesscardinal/pseuds/headlesscardinal
Summary: Piper Wright has always loved a good mystery, and she's found the greatest mystery in the Commonwealth to solve: the mysterious vault dweller who's starting to look like a hero in her eyes. Snake is a woman whose name is unknown to everyone, and she's on a mission with a million hurdles in her way and a beautiful distraction in the form of a gorgeous reporter in a red coat.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so I'm back with the multichapter story of F!Sole/Piper I talked about because the fandom isn't dead... I hope. This story is unrelated to Liquid Courage and will involve a more intricate story that can't be told in a oneshot. If you read that story, though, you'll probably know some things about Sole that Piper is still trying to figure out as of this chapter. That being said, please leave comments so I know people are still reading because I tend to get really unmotivated if no one is saying anything. Some creative liberties are made here (F!Sole being married to a woman, etc.) that I think would fit the story better. This story mostly focuses on the Minutemen and Railroad storyline, even though the Brotherhood will play a part in it too.
> 
> Contact me or send ideas in the comments below/my blue hellsite (tumblr) at tricardinal.

Restless fingers rapped on the wooden surface of one Piper Wright's desk. Her trusty and worn pistol lies beside her preoccupation of the hour as she twirls her pencil around her fingers. _Twenty seven across. Chemical symbol for cobalt_. How the hell was she supposed to know? She's a reporter, not a scientist. With a disgruntled sigh, she sets aside the pre-war crossword puzzle book and pulls out her notes from under it. The hastily written line in her most recent page is accompanied by two very large question marks. _"Great, my favorite ball park's become a shantytown."_

What does it mean, though?

The reporter is aware that Diamond City is built on the ruins of a baseball stadium. It's common knowledge to the residents of the Commonwealth, but it hasn't been a stadium for a very long time. The words Blue muttered to herself while entering the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth has been bothering her all morning. Her words would only make sense if she's seen the place over two hundred years ago, when the nuclear fallout devastated the entire world. That can't be, can it?

Piper had established that 'Snake' was a vault dweller. She would have almost missed it if it weren't for the pip boy and the complete confusion at just about everything. She may not have voiced it out loud, but the Diamond City reporter was anything if not incredibly perceptive, and not knowing what a brahmin is was a dead giveaway. 

Nothing stays hidden from Piper Wright for long, though.

She jots down her notes at a speed that would frighten most. _Not likely from Vault 81 as she has little to no knowledge of the wasteland._ At least the only known operating vault knew what was in the wasteland even though they didn't venture it. An entirely new vault, then, one that's been completely isolated until very recently. Now this is a story. This new deduced tidbit of information sends her brain into maximum overdrive, mentally crossing out possibilities and adding new ones.

A firm knock interrupts her thoughts. She stands up quickly, fetching her pistol and heading towards the door.

"Sorry that took a while." Snake tosses her combat knife into the air, where it spins three times, and catches it again effortlessly. "I went to get a new knife and I thought I'd give you more time to prepare."

"It looks nice, Blue. What happened to your old one?" Piper says, locking the door behind her. She'd just dropped off Nat at Nick's office with Ellie, after promising that they would bring him back very soon.

"Broke off inside the eye socket of a mutant...dog... thing." She casually answers, as Dogmeat excitedly pants beside her.

"The feral mongrels?"

"Um... the green ones that look like they've been snacking on buffout all their lives."

Piper pops a gum drop into her mouth, savoring the strawberry flavored treat while she grins in anticipation. "I can tell that traveling with you is gonna be a hoot, already."

"It might also be extremely hazardous to your health."

Piper snorts in good natured humor. "In this nuclear wasteland? It wouldn't make a lick of difference, really. If radiation's not gonna kill you, the food will."

Snake strokes her chin thoughtfully as they make their way up the stairs. "I've always thought getting ripped apart by a giant mutant hound was a good way to go. It's right below dying in a food coma."

The Diamond City reporter pretends not to see Danny Sullivan's derisive eye roll at her direction as they exit the gates. "A what?"

"Right, you wouldn't know what that is." She scolds herself for using pre-war terminology for the third time this week. "It's when you eat so much food you just pass out for the entire day. Used to help with the wicked hangovers I had after a night out in high school."

"You know," Piper briefly looks around to make sure no one's close enough to listen in on them. "This 'pretending to be a born wastelander' thing is going to be real hard with you constantly talking about things no one has any idea about."

"You have a point." Snake nods in agreement. She doubts that even the richest wastelander wouldn't be stingy on good food. "But that's why you're here."

Piper agrees with her. It isn't long before she asked her newfound companion to tell her all about the world before the war. Snake tells her the good and the bad, of the petty governments going to war and grocery stores. How some people could acquire so much money by being in a movie that some of the few never had to work again, how people could communicate long distance with a handheld device.

It's a surprisingly peaceful walk to Park Street station. Their conversation strays to Piper explaining what animals are edible in the Commonwealth to what you shouldn't eat unless you want to turn purple and shit your intestines out, puzzling Snake to no end with her wasteland-talk.

"So brahmin are two headed irradiated cows with no fur. Radstags are two headed deer? And Radscorpions are giant scorpions." Snake recites. "I ran into your mole rats on jet already, now you're telling me everything's gotten bigger for whatever reason?"

"I'm not exactly an expert, but yeah. But hey, at least that means more food if you shoot something dead, right?"

Snake raises her eyebrow. "I really had the impression that you were an animal lover, Piper. A cat person, maybe."

Piper wondered how she guessed right. "Well, cats are pretty cute. The non-radiated ones, anyway. Everything else pretty much tries to kill you, so..."

"That's fair."

"Hey Blue..." Something just occurs to her. "So, how big is an underground vault?"

"Um, I didn't really get to survey all of them before I picked one but mine was pretty big. Why?"

"So there's probably going to be a lot of guys in it because the entire gang might be there."

"...Probably."

"And we didn't get the rest of your friends to come and help?"

"Nope."

She blinks, dumbfounded. "And why's that?"

"It would make it harder for me to show off."

Piper considers for a moment if this woman is going to get them both killed.

"I don't have a lot of friends?" Snake tries again, after seeing the totally unconvinced look on her new partner's face.

"Well, that Mr. Gusty that was with you could've helped but you sent him back to Sanctuary anyway."

Snake sighs. "You've got me. Damn, nothing gets past you, doesn't it? There's only two people at Sanctuary who's capable of combat without shooting their own feet off. Everyone else is busy setting up the farms and building structures and defenses. They're only going to slow us down and probably get killed if I bring them, so I need Codsworth and Preston to look after them. Without defenses, even that's going to be hard if they get faced by a significant force."

"Well, don't let me slow you down." Piper gives her a thin smile. She considers herself quite the shot with a gun, but Snake doesn't know that. "But that's good. Leaving the settlers, I mean. No need for them to get all up in our business. Most people don't really last long in this business."

"Thanks for understanding. Sanctuary's pretty... uh, new. I'm sure I'll organize an army there sooner or later." Snake shows her own smile, one filled with approval. "I hope you're here to stick around, then."

Piper cocks her gun when Park Street station rolls into view. "A vault dweller rescuing a Diamond City detective from a vault filled with vicious gangsters? Sounds like a good story."

"Believe me, Piper, stick around and I'll show you lots of very interesting things." Snake smirks, her finger then lingering on her lips as an unspoken sign for 'be quiet'.

The old door creaks no matter how carefully it's opened. Snake takes point, her footsteps light and silent like a cat's. Piper scans the perimeter for anything, noticing that her palms are starting to sweat. She's been in her share of sticky situations before, but two people and a dog taking on an unknown number of gangsters? She would've saved up enough money to hire at least five mercs first. She'll always rescue Nick, no matter how sticky the situation. She's always found it ironic that her greatest ally in the entire city in her investigation of the Institute is a synth, but after her many investigations, she's concluded that Nick is definitely not working for the mysterious group. Either that or he's just really good at hiding it.

It's too late for doubts because Snake's finished opening the vault door after fiddling with the console for a bit. A loud and blaring alarm sounds.

"Well, there goes our stealthy option." Piper murmurs.

"Hard and fast it is, then." Snake smirks, twirling her gun like a cowboy in an old western. Footsteps. Multiple ones. Without missing a beat, Snake jumps over the short gate and rolls a short distance away, drawing her knife as she gets back on her feet. She spots two men from the window of a room. With a flick of her wrist, her knife is sent flying and slices right through the neck of the man with the gun.

Dogmeat tackles him before he can reach the ground, snapping at his arm like a chew toy.

Her gun points to the other man in a dirty suit who's only armed with a baseball bat. "Tell me the easiest way to get to the detective."

"I ain't telling you shit, lady." The man scowls. "You got any idea what Skinny's gonna do to me if I do?"

Snake strokes her chin in contemplation. "Do you have any idea what I'll do to you if you don't? Why don't you ask your friend?"

He gets a shade or two paler as he glances at his dead comrade on the floor. The scent of rust and blood makes his heart drop. "Listen, all I can tell you is he's in some big office in the middle of the vault. I don't know the password that opens it, Dino and Skinny are the only ones who do."

"Then why do I get the feeling you aren't telling me everything?" Snake raises an eyebrow.

Dogmeat growls a deep rumble that comes straight from his chest and licks hip lips.

"I swear, that's everything I know!" He even drops the baseball bat and puts his hands up in the air. "Jesus, I'm new here. I don't know shit, okay?"

"How many people are holed up in here?"

"I-I don't know." He stammers. "Fifteen to twenty?"

"You'd better be telling the truth."

"I am. I swear I am." His legs visibly start to shake as Dogmeat circles him slowly as a predator would to a prey.

Snake's finger is on the trigger. She just needs to pull it. However, she bites her lips and lifts her gun away. "Then go. The people inside won't have this chance."

He nods furiously. "Just let me get my stuff."

Snake whistles to Dogmeat, who fetches her knife from the throat of the man on the ground. Blood spurts as the weapon is withdrawn from his neck. After fetching it, she opens the door and glances at Piper to follow.

"Blue!" Piper exclaims. The man is reaching for something on the table. "Take cover!"

In an instant, she turns and fires her gun from her hip. He falls over, eyes wide as he joins his friend on the ground. The circle of red grows wider on his tan suit as he coughs for air on the ground. He continues for several seconds, his limbs twitching until the life fades from his brown eyes. With a final gasp, he falls quiet.

"You should've taken your chance and left." Snake sighs.

Dogmeat barks incessantly at something in the room. Curiosity overtakes Piper and follows into the room where the two dead bodies lie. A submachine gun lies on the table. "He had a weapon all along, huh."

"Smart. Tried to distract us and shoot when we had our backs turned. Do you feel like taking it?"

"Sure." She takes the submachine gun off the table. It would be wise to have a semi automatic when you're facing that many people. "Why'd you offer him a chance to leave?"

A moment of silence passes. Piper can see the weight starting to bear on her shoulders. There must not be a lot of violence pre-war, or at least that's what she would think if she didn't know any better. The way the vault dweller killed both of those men told her enough. The people from back then must have had a more peaceful world, at least, one where not everyone's been exposed to death until they themselves find it.

"It's not a mistake I'm going to make again, don't worry. I just... " Snake brings her hand up to her chest, as if reaching for something. Once she realizes she's doing it, she stops and brings it back down. _I just need to leave the old world behind._

Piper remembers doing that when her necklace broke as a teenager. She often fiddled with it when she was thinking, which was all the time. She wonders if the other woman wore one too under her clothes.

"What the hell am I talking about?" Snake shakes herself out of her reverie. "Let's go. We have a detective to rescue."

She nods, but vows not to forget those words. Another clue to look into. "Nice shot, by the way."

"Which one?"

"Both."

Snake chuckles as she opens the door. "Well, I'm just glad the right part of the blade hit or else it would've been really embarrassing."

 

* * *

 

 

Unfortunately, the hissing of the doors opening does nothing to help them be quiet. Dogmeat barreling headfirst into fire definitely serves as a good enough distraction for herself and Snake to move into cover, but not before they fill the chests of the men shooting at Dogmeat with lead.

"Hurt my dog and you die." Snake mutters to herself, earning a giggle from Piper. They advance on their position, with Piper shooting at the man's head as he pokes it out to aim. She misses by a few inches while Snake slides into cover. The woman was this close to sending Dogmeat over as a distraction, but even then she knows they're in a difficult position.

One of them will have to double back if they want to flank them or else she'll risk sacrificing the dog she's getting increasingly attached to by sending him into the fray without support. The corridor is also too bare for them to run across and not get filled with bullets. She'll have to get some armor for Dogmeat after they win the only way they can: by outshooting the opponent.

"I've got this one." Piper grins, rising to fire at something. While it seems her first shot didn't hit anything important, her second one hits something with a loud clang. Snake peeks over to see what the hissing noise she's hearing is, only to have her arm yanked down. "Keep your head down! Don't wanna get-" A resounding boom pierces the air and the two can feel the crates they'd been using as cover slide back an inch or two as hot air zooms around them.

They lock eyes and give each other a nod before they sprint over. The two gangsters lie on the ground, the shock of the explosion stunning them temporarily.

"Were those oxygen tanks?" Snake says incredulously. "What are those doing here?"

"Yep. I think. No idea why they're all over the place, but they can be pretty convenient." Piper walks over to one of the men on the ground who's coughing up blood and trying to reach his gun. She puts a bullet in his head as Snake does the same to the other.

"Oh, we are going to work just swell together."

"I thought we already were?" Piper remembers hoping they'll come out alive at the beginning of their walk here. Now she's a fair amount more certain they will. They both reload, eyeing the two opened doors in front of them that lead to the same room.

Snake gestures towards the right entrance and Piper nods, cocking her head to the left one. The vault dweller opens fire as soon as she enters, hitting one squarely in the forehead and he drops like a rag doll. Piper wonders where the other one is. She could have sworn she saw two of them holing up here. That's when a blur passes by her vision, and of course it's a baseball bat being raised up by the other gangster who was hiding right in her blind spot. Just as she aims at him, the blow never comes. The end of a knife pokes out his jugular.

Behind him, Snake simply needs to take a few steps to get to them. "I think you might want to move out of the way for this, Piper."

Piper smirks and moves behind the man who's very quickly looking as if he might shit himself. "Show off."

As he lets out a soundless scream, the knife slashes to the side, raining the walls with a spray of blood. It's a gruesome scene to behold and Snake will definitely have to clean her clothes because it's not red like Piper's, but the only thing she can do for now is flick the blood off the knife. "Sorry you had to see that."

She says, after a pause. "I've seen worse. Ever seen a deathclaw buffet?"

"That one's crossed out of my itinerary." Snake chuckles and shakes her head. "It was my second day out here. I'll tell you about it over drinks after this?"

"Deal. You have a lot of things to tell me." Yes, she thinks, quite a lot.

The next hallways are easier to traverse. There were a few stragglers they got out of their way easily enough, and then they find themselves in a large hall of three stories. A man is talking rather loudly at what looks to be an office window. Piper would bet her hat that Nick is there. For someone with boots, Snake is surprisingly adept at sneaking. She makes her way up the staircase without a sound and even Piper has to slow down as to not stumble and give their position away.

By the time she makes it up there, she catches Snake with her gun pointed to the side of his head. He tenses. "Skinny?" 

"You wish, bitch." With speed comparable to a mole rat on jet, he moves away from the gun's sights, ducking under Snake's arm to land an uppercut on her stomach.

He's promptly met with an elbow to the head that effectively stops him in his tracks. "Dino, then. I'd fight you, but we have no time for this." She tells him, before planting a bullet in his skull.

Piper looks in the window, spying Nick's glowing synth eyes peering out at her. He tips his hat in a sign of gratitude and she waves back.

"Found it." Snake rises from Dino's body with a holotape. "I think."

"Let's hurry." Piper urges her. "I doubt no one's going to come to check up on him."

Snake loads the holotape onto the console, hoping it's the right one. Vaults tend to have higher security measures and she's just not adequate enough at this to hack the more difficult ones. Before long, though the door zips open. The password worked.

"Valentine? I'm-" Snake's words halts in the middle of her sentence.

Nick stands in the middle of the room, lighting a cigarette. The light bounces off his metal skin as he takes a long, lazy drag. "Never seen a synth before?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought I'd share some screenshots of my Sole, just because I realized there hasn't been too much description of her yet. 
> 
> https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jNddNzJMbyUEF1WndV4qRYaABbV9zEy2?usp=sharing
> 
> Let me know if it's not working. As usual, leave a comment and tell me what you think as to let me know if people are reading this or not!

Snake lowers her gun. Even though she'll probably have to tell him just about everything to help her find Shaun, there's no sense in letting him know just yet what a fish out of water she is. "More like I've never seen one that didn't attack me on sight."

  
Piper sees right through the lie. Judging from what she knows, she's been out here for no more than a month at most. Then she remembers what she's been forgetting to tell her. "Oh, yeah. Meet Nick, Diamond City's resident detective. He's the only synth in the city." The only one known to public, anyway.

  
"Ah, Piper, you've come to my rescue once again. I guess now we're even." Nick smiles as he puffs out a breath of cigarette smoke. "Though one has to wonder how the two of you shot your way into this place. There was a lot of men on the way in, I know that."

  
"A whole lot of bullets and an explosion or two." Snake grins. "You can call me Snake. I'd introduce you two, but it looks like you're already acquainted."

  
"Yeah..." Piper looks at Nick and shakes her head fondly. "We run into each other a lot in our line of work."

  
"She means either we go off risking our hides together, or we see each other in situations like these." Nick somewhat clarifies.

  
A brief look of _something_ crosses Snake's features. It looks like a mix of curiosity and something else she's trying to disguise. It's too rash to call it jealousy, and Piper knows whatever's making her feel that way is completely unfounded, but it intrigues her all the same. 

  
"Well, are we going soon?" Nick flicks his cigarette. "Or have the two of you taken care of everyone outside?"

  
The next altercations are less banter-filled than they were before. Piper can just hear the gears turning in both Nick and Snake's heads.  
She and the detective are both trying to figure the vault dweller out, and she's trying to figure the two of them out in return. Usually, the middle of battle is no place to get distracted by trying to deduce as much information about your comrades as possible, but hell if the three of them aren't a battle hardy and observant bunch.  
It's a bad, bad day to be part of Skinny Malone's gang. While there was only three of them and Dogmeat, the vault's narrow corridors work to their advantage. The gangsters have an advantage in numbers, but it seems that they're not too bright at tactics. They stick to cover, drawing the men out one by one so that their numbers ceased to mean anything but more fish in a barrel. Those corridors, while not too long and quite prone to turns and corners, essentially became a shooting gallery.

  
Piper has never felt more confident in a gunfight. Her usual MO is traipsing alone in the dark with a singular handgun, hoping it won't jam when someone inevitably finds her in the middle of her taking notes, then having to run as fast as she can while wildly shooting behind her. That, or relying on dumb luck or some ridiculous plan that she hatched during the very last second, or a combination of the two. 

  
"Nick." Snake hisses. When the detective turns to her, she communicates something to him in the form of a few very quick hand gestures. The synth nods, and they split off in opposite directions, hiding behind two pillars.

  
"It's coming from this way!" A distant voice says, a voice that comes with a set of three or four footsteps behind it. When the first one comes into sight, Piper pulls a fast one and fires a quick burst of rounds into his chest before she hears the click of an empty clip and gets back into cover. She doesn't expose herself to see if he's down, but the meaty sound of the bullets burying into his chest is a sound she knows too well to mistake for anything else. Even if he's not down, he won't be trouble.

  
The lack of gunshots is pretty unnerving, though. Where the hell is Nick and Snake? Piper can hear the rest running in her direction, and with her current position, they could split up and take her from both sides. Maybe she should've known better than to hide behind a bunch of stacked boxes in the middle of the room. She gathers that it's not the wisest decision to roll into some other kind of cover right now.

  
And then she hears something behind her and her stomach drops. The vault is a maze. One of them must have snuck up behind her and now she's fucked.

"It's the old rust bucket! Get him!" One of Skinny's men exclaims, before a loud snap turns his head.

  
Snake lets go of the body, discarding it like one does to a used cigarette. The man lands on his stomach, yet his head is facing the ceiling. The skin around his snapped neck is stretched thin to accomodate the grisly, unnatural angle. She raises her pistol with a smirk and a hole is blown through his heart, but it's not from her gun.

  
"Couldn't let you have all the fun, right?" Piper makes a show out of twirling her gun, but it slips out of her finger and clatters to the ground. "Whoops."

  
"Quite the dame you've got yourself mixed in with." Nick dusts his coat off.

  
Snake nods before she asks him, "Are you talking to me or her?"

  
"Both." Nick says, examining their handiwork. The long tunnel is streaked with blood and bodies. "Skinny should be through that door. Let's get this over with, shall we? I'm starting to feel claustrophobic."

  
Piper looks around. "Um, aren't we going to see if there's anything we can take first?"

  
"Of course we're going to take everything that's not nailed down." Snake says, her eyebrow raised. She then considers that taking literally everything might not be what Piper has in mind. "I'm marking this place for sweep and retrieve after we're done. Sanctuary needs a lot of junk for the radio tower, anyway. The one I hope I still know how to make because at least that means less posting stupid signs that barely get acknowledged by anyone. And for everything else. You'll both get your fair share of the loot, of course."

  
Upon seeing the confusion on Nick's face, Piper feels the need to elaborate. "Blue here's building up a new settlement."

  
"Yep. We've got enough people now to have a retrieval team to get materials, weapons and armor from places I've cleaned out. It's better than me breaking my back trying to carry everything back." A troubled look makes itself obvious at the mention of the team. "Of course, that still means they could get ambushed on the way to or back."

  
"Ah, I see. Remind me about this once we get out of here. I might be able to help out with that." Nick strokes his chin in deep thought. "I've collected several dossiers on several people around the Commonwealth who could be of your interest, or at least help out with other things."

  
"Uh, guys, maybe we should talk after we leave?" Piper asks them as she stands up, her pockets noticeably fuller from whatever she managed to collect off the corpses.

  
"You're right." Nick responds. "Although I can tell you that the majority of Skinny's men are no longer of concern, thanks to you two."

  
"Don't worry, Valentine, we'll let you get a few shots in." Snake gives the two of them an optimistic grin.

  
He frowns. "I was hoping to avoid any shooting with this one. Darla may be a mean one, but she hasn't done anything that's made her deserve a bullet."

  
"De-escalation. I can do that." Snake tells him, noting the skeptical looks she's getting. "What? I know how to do it, it's just that no one here hasn't exactly given me a chance to do it before they try to blow my guts out."

  
"And what will you do if they do the same thing everyone else did?" Nick questions her. His eyes flicker to the hallway, littered with bodies and stinky with the stench of blood.

  
"The only thing we can." Her face takes a grim turn. "Get her out of here with the fewest injuries possible."

  
The moment they go through the door, guns are pointed at them. They approach slowly, their own guns drawn and their trigger fingers itching more and more as they get closer.

  
"Well, well, what have we here." A young girl with fresh blue eyes and surprisingly neat and not frazzled hair greets them. That's a rare sight in the wasteland. She holds a double barreled shotgun and wears a cocky grin to match. "Looks like the detective's got more friends that we thought, right, Skinny?"

  
Piper grits her teeth and she can see Snake's gait tense. Darla can't be any older than twenty and Skinny looks like he could be old enough to be her father. Even with the nice suit, just looking at him makes her feel like she needs a shower.

  
"I guess my old friend's more popular than I thought." The sarcasm drips from his words like venom. The fury in his voice is undeniable. "But here's the end of the line, Valentine. You really think you can do this get away with it?"

  
"Come on, Skinny." Nick tries to placate him. "Just give up. There's four of you and I'm sure you know what already happened to the rest of your men inside. I'm certain my comrades in arms here haven't run out of steam."

  
"Let me take care of them." Darla cocks her gun and aims at them, grin unfazed. "I'll have them gone in a few, darlin'."

  
"You won't." Snake sighs, stepping forward. Piper and Nick both look at each other as if asking if the other knows what's going on. Neither gets an answer. "Tell me, Darla, have you ever killed someone before?"

  
"Of course I have." Darla frowns. "More than you think."

  
"Right. I'd believe you if you were holding that gun right." Snake tells her bluntly. Spotting the fairly well concealed look of surprise, she keeps going. "You're not going to hit us from that far away, not while holding it like that. You're more likely to fuck up your shoulder and not be able to wash your hair for a month."

  
The young woman looks to Skinny to defend her, but he avoids her glare. He knows everything that was said is true.

  
"Did he tell you you had talent at this, Darla? That the two of you can run away and build a new, glamorous, exciting life together?" She can see the frustration behind Darla's fairly bad poker face. _Jackpot_. "Look around you. Your entire gang was taken apart by three people and a dog. People don't have a particularly high life expectancy in this line of work, but you look like your parents have money. You're going to live just fine without getting into the business of kidnapping and murder and whatever else these guys do."

  
"She's right." Nick nods to her, hoping that a little extra encouragement is all she needs to change her mind. "I've been in this business for a long, long time. I've seen a lot of young people end up in a garbage pile somewhere just for getting mixed up with the wrong friends. The difference between them and you is you have the option to leave. Go home, Darla. You've got one waiting for you."

  
Her grip tightens so hard that her already unsteady aim tremors even more. Her nails are turning white from the force of her hold, the gunmetal moist with the sweat from her palms. Finally, she drops it. It was much too heavy for her, anyway. "I... What the hell was I thinking when I came out here with you, Skinny? Don't try to find me again! I'm done with you!" With that, she stomps away to the exit.

  
Her heels clack once as she steps away, then twice. Then Skinny's meaty fingers are around her wrist. "You're not leaving. You think you can just join us and leave when it's convenient, huh? Well, tough luck, either you leave with us or not at all."

  
Four shots ring out, echoing in the walls of the chamber. The last two of Skinny's men collapse to the ground.

  
"It looks like it's just you now, Skinny." Piper stares down her pistol's sights. "Let her go."

  
For a second, there was no sound except for silence so thick it's nearly suffocating. And then Skinny moves his arm, the one holding his gun, and three shots ring out at the same time. Two bullets enter his arm, and one the other. His vice-like grip around Darla's struggling wrist lets go in an instant at the same time he drops his gun. Piper exhales and lowers her gun.

"Do you have a pair of handcuffs with you, Detective?" Snake gives Skinny a good look. Looks like his suit is ruined. "I doubt we'll need them, since he won't be shooting anything any time soon."

  
"I do, actually." Nick chuckles. "Darla, are you okay?"

  
"Do I _look_ okay?" She crosses her arms angrily. "I'm dirtier than I've ever been in my life and I haven't showered in... in... you don't even want to know. Just get me home and I'll make sure you get paid. Just don't tell my daddy everything or you're only getting half of it."

  
With a nod, the synth walks over and slaps the cuffs on the former gang leader. Piper swears she sees him rolling his eyes at Darla's sorry excuse of a threat. "You're under arrest, Skinny Malone. Do I need to tell you all the things you're facing charges for?"

  
"Aren't you going to read him his rights, Valentine?" Snake half-jokes.

 

Nick's eyes narrow. "I'm afraid that's not exactly protocol anymore."

  
"We... don't exactly have enough resources to keep people in jail for a proper sentence." Piper whispers to her and tugs at her sleeve to get her attention. "Afraid the most common way to punish criminals here is with death, Blue."

  
"How could I have missed that?" She mutters in response. 

 

* * *

 

Piper has never gone so long without fresh air before. She takes a big gulp of it as soon as they reach the open hair, pleasantly surprised by falling water on her face. She doesn't usually make a habit of staying out in the rain because she's not too keen on her skin flaking off and her hair falling out, but since she doesn't feel the usual burning of radioactive rain, it's probably fine. She's got a dose of radaway somewhere in her room.

  
Nick opens his half-squashed pack of cigarettes and uses his thumb to push two out, putting one in his mouth and handing the other one to her.

  
"Thanks." Piper takes one, letting him light it for her.

  
"Can we not stand around here?" Darla impatiently taps her foot. "My clothes are going to get ruined."

  
"Hey, you're not the one who spent hours dodging bullets and running around in there." Piper pouts, letting out a huff of smoke. "I, for one, could use a breather."

  
Seeing Darla's face redden with frustration, Nick sighs and decides to step in before he gets an even bigger headache. "Why don't the three of us meet up for noodles tomorrow when it's a reasonable hour? I'm going to take Darla back. I can talk to your friend here early tomorrow."

  
"We do have a lot to discuss." Snake ominously tells him.

  
With that, they're on their way back to Diamond City. With her impatience, Darla almost jogs, not considering how bad it would be if she ran headfirst into danger. Nick follows her , his longer legs fortunately carrying him fast enough to keep up. Piper takes a lazy drag off her smoke, the taste of tobacco making her realize how thirsty she's been. A beer would be heavenly.

  
"Everyone smokes these days, huh?" Snake stays behind with her, seemingly not too keen on hearing the young woman they just rescued complain even more.

  
"You got it. Most don't exactly stay alive long enough to get the nastier side effects." Piper says, blowing the smoke away from her companion. "I don't very often, really. Gotta outrun the bad guys, right?"

"Right. I get the feeling that you do a lot of that. All that running definitely made me hungry." Snake yawns. They must've been gone longer than she thought. "Is there anywhere at Diamond City where I can send out a radio message?"

  
"Can't your little pip-boy there do that?"

  
Snake shrugs. "I didn't really get a manual."

  
"Well, we could send out that message from my house. Say, you don't really have a place to stay in the city, don't you? Why don't you stay with me for the night? We can cook something up."

  
Snake considers if there's a less innocent suggestion behind the invitation, but she's honestly so tired she can't process anything. "That sounds amazing, Piper."

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones. It's pretty dialogue heavy, buuuut I thought I'd throw y'all a bone and finally start cranking up the tension ;). Note that while some quests in the game will be featured, they're not going to play out exactly like how they did in the game because if you're like me and have played it multiple times, you'd probably get bored of rehashing the same stuff over and over again. If you have any quests/plot lines that you think would be interesting to see, feel free to give me ideas. 
> 
> As usual, let me know in the comments if you're still reading :) If I see that more people are up for it, I'll probably make this longer. And have more 'interesting' scenes.

Piper takes a sip of her fresh cup of coffee. Shitty coffee as it is, it's still coffee, and she never turns one down or fails to have one every morning. There's nothing but caffeine to get one's engine running and she suspects she'll need her's revving and ready to go pretty soon.

  
The same thing can't be said for Snake. The woman doesn't snore but the depth of her slumber is quite evident. When they came back late last night, she made herself comfortable and her eyelids were practically glued together by the time Piper picked out what to cook, if anything she made could even be considered cooking. The vault dweller has sunk comfortably down the couch, her jacket neatly folded under her head as a pillow. Her brown hair is splayed over the side of her face, a sharp contrast to how it's usually tied back during her waking hours, and she stretches like a cat napping in the afternoon sun. Dogmeat quietly snores on the ground beside her.

  
Her sleeves are pulled up to show a pair of muscular forearms and a singular tattoo on the right one. The ink illustrates a green serpent slithering down her arm. It's particularly well done, unlike the blurred and faded ones usually sported by raiders and mercenaries. Piper will have to note it down to look into. It can't have been cheap to get.

  
Piper can't help but notice how sharp her jaw is as she mumbles something in her sleep and moves into a fetal position, but she also can't help but also see the multitude of scars on her face alone. One of them is partially covered by her hair right now, but it looks like a tear that was stitched together rather well. It sits over an older one , a burn mark that's long since healed. The others are impressive ones too, and while they're not exactly visible right now, it gives her an idea. She'll have to put in the numerous marks on her as yet another point in her ' _Snake was not a normal citizen_ ' points in her notebook, as if the section hasn't spanned multiple pages already.

Even wastelanders don't usually have that many evidence of harm on them, but maybe it's because they usually end up dead.

  
It's funny, though. Nothing intimidates Piper Wright very much anymore but she should at least be a little bit intimidated by the woman passed out on her couch. Even with the rather hefty collection of scars, she's only ever struck her as pretty. Her wandering thoughts lead her to ponder if there are more scars on her body. She coughs to shoo the thoughts from her head before it goes too far. _Pretty sexy_ , she knows she was thinking, instead of just pretty.

At the sound, Snake jolts up and reaches for her gun before she realizes where she is.

  
"Coffee?" Piper casually crosses her arms as if she hasn't been analyzing her for the last ten minutes. She notices Snake's groggy gaze fall down way below where her eyes should be, right at the ample cleavage that's only ever visible in her sleep tank top. They're even more emphasized by her crossed arms. "Hey, sleepyhead, my eyes are up here."

She's been thinking of throwing away the ratty old top for a while. Now she's sure she's going to keep it.

  
Snake awkwardly runs her fingers through her messy hair to make herself seem at least presentable and looks away in embarrassment. "Um, good morning."

  
"Oh, should I be calling you Red instead?" Piper teases, her eyebrow quirking mischievously. "Sure describes your face right now."

  
"N-No, I just..." Her tongue feels like it's tied in knots. "Didn't know you were a Silver Shroud fan, that's all."

  
"What?" Piper then realizes what she's wearing and why she wears it only to sleep. Her top has a faded graphic of some old Silver Shroud comic book cover where the hero is dangling from a helicopter and shooting at an unseen enemy. "Oh. Yeah, um... I can explain."

  
"Oh, I see how it is. Who's Red now?" Snake rises with a smirk, not taking her eyes off the graphic Piper is obviously trying so hard to conceal with her arms. "We've got a comic book nerd here."

  
Sputtering on her coffee, Piper clenches her fist as she's entirely too aware of her plum-red cheeks. "Well, you know what the Silver Shroud is and nobody does unless they're a fan, so you must be a fan too!"

  
Wait a minute. She knows what the Silver Shroud is but she hasn't been in the Wasteland long enough to know it, right? Perhaps they had some copies inside the vault. Then again, how does a vault dweller get that many injuries while being in what has to be the safest place ever for her entire life? So many things not adding up, so many things to investigate. Piper takes a furious gulp of her coffee. She has her work cut out for her.

  
While lost in her silent reverie, it takes Piper a bit too long to notice Snake's stunned silence. _No. Way_. "You _are_ a Silver Shroud nerd!" She disbelievingly exclaims.

  
What's the best way to get out of an awkward situation? Change the subject to something more important. In a hurry, she pulls out her elastic band and puts her hair into a quick ponytail. "Anyway, uh, Nick's probably waiting for me so I should go. Wanna have some noodles later? I'm paying. I'm kind of starving but I guess it's too late to make real food."

  
"Hold up." She raises a finger and starts rummaging around in her pantry. She tosses a can of cram in Snake's direction, pouring a cup of warm coffee that she then slides to the edge of the table. "That should last you until afternoon."

Maybe the black haired woman shouldn't tease her too much yet. She does have a reputation for being quite relentless.

  
"Ah, cram. My old friend." Snake cracks the can open with her knife, walking over and inhaling the sweet smell of cheap coffee. "Be careful, Miss Reporter. Keep giving me a place to sleep and feeding me and I'll probably never leave."

  
It might be a tad bit rash to say what's on her mind at this point of their camaraderie, but the dark haired woman coyly pretends to be deep in thought. "Maybe that wouldn't be too bad if you continue being so interesting." Hell, she'll probably get a lot more sleep from the comfort of extra security too.

  
Or it would be even better if some time in the future, they happen to lose a lot of sleep doing something much more fun.

  
"Are you saying that just to get that interview?" Snake playfully tosses her knife in the air, as she's prone to do when idle, before putting it back where it's less likely to stab someone. She takes the spoon provided to her and digs in to the can of preserved meat.

  
Piper uses the precious few seconds to think for an answer while opening her own can in an admittedly less cool way: with a can opener. She's lucky the extra caffeine's helping her brain some. What does she say to that? She's going to be perfectly rational here and admit that a woman that dangerous is bound to accumulate her share of followers who may or may not take her place. She has to hook, line and sinker her now or else she'll lose that story of the century she's been working on. _Yeah, Piper, keep on telling yourself that._

  
Snake puts her half empty cup of coffee down. "Um, you need any help with that?"

  
She didn't notice how painfully slowly she was opening that can. She immediately hurries and gets her spoon. "Nope, thanks! My can opener's just dull." They both know that's bullshit, but that's an even better reason to not dally on that. "But no, it's not just because of that."

  
The vault dweller is well aware that it's probably close to noon, but she can't bear to tear herself away from the chair she's sitting on. There's just something about sitting down on a table with one gorgeous reporter in a Silver Shroud tank top that makes her want to prolong this for as long as possible, and it's not just the generous cleavage the top is showing. She tears her eyes away before she gets called out again because she's not so sure she can wriggle her way out of it this time.

  
"Don't tell me it's because of my beautiful face, smooth as a baby's bum?" Snake teases, knowing full well her face is anything but.

  
"It's not really smooth, but it sure is nice to look at." Piper grins outwardly, glad that for her talent with words. "Wait, was that a serious question?"

  
Snake's eyes widen at her unexpected response, although she has to admit that she was baiting for that. For the second time today, she feels her cheeks getting warmer, but this time she makes no effort in hiding it. "It was, but thank you. I appreciate that you think that."

  
"Well, since it was a serious question, then I just wanted you to know I like how you handled that entire Nick situation." She looks away, suddenly feeling less confident than she did before. "I thought you wouldn't have cared about saving Darla or anyone, really. Or about catching anyone there alive."

  
"Piper," Snake grimly says, her voice soft. "Everyone in there died. Everyone but Darla and Skinny."

  
"It's the wasteland, Blue." Piper's said those words plenty of times since she figured out the other woman isn't from it. "People here don't care about rescuing or taking people alive. You do, don't you? If you didn't, you would've let them die and you wouldn't be starting a settlement. You'd have just taken everything in that vault and sold it, maybe started a raider gang or something." Especially because a woman like that would make one scary raider or mercenary.

"Now, you're talking. Do I get to have matching leather jackets in my gang?" 

"You know what they say." She shrugs. "The bigger the logo, the bigger the target on your back." 

"I don't think anyone says that, Piper." 

"It doesn't make it any less true." 

  
It takes a moment for Snake to admit this. "I do care. I'm just glad that it looks like you do too."

By this time, she's already finished her coffee and her can of cram sits empty in front of her. It's past time for her to go, but she and Nick didn't exactly arrange for a time. Maybe she can just wait a little more.

  
Piper slowly nods, and they share a long look of understanding. Their held gaze lasts for a while, with neither woman saying a word. She comes to look closer to see if Snake's eyes are closer to blue or green.

  
That is, until a firm knock jostles them out of their moment. "Piper?" Comes the very distinctive voice of Diamond City's synth detective.

  
"Oh, shit." Snake bolts towards the door, opening it just a crack. While she's not in her pajamas, mostly because she doesn't have any, a quick whiff of the air makes it obvious that they had just finished their very late breakfast. "Hey, Nick. Nat."

  
Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Nick cannot see her dressed like this. Piper zooms to her stairs, nearly tripping and stepping a hole in that board she meant to fix months ago. "Don't open it, Blue, I'm not dressed yet!"

  
Nick blinks once, then twice. His voice rises an octave higher. "Um, sorry for dropping in unexpectedly. Should I come back at a better time?"

  
"No... it's not what you're thinking..." Snake mumbles, failing to find anything to cover for the reporter.

  
Nat slips out of his hand fairly quickly, pushing the door open and walking in. "Nothing I haven't seen before, sis!"

  
"Hey Nat," Snake clears her throat. "Why don't you guys hang out with Dogmeat for a bit? I just have some business to take care of with ol' Nick here. I'll get you and Piper noodles after, I promise."

  
The girl puts her hands on her hips and gives her a staredown that was clearly learned from her older sister. "Only if you're paying, lady, my sister never sleeps in this late unless she's hungover."

  
"Of course I'm paying." She did manage to get a significant amount of loot from Park Street Station. Although she really wants to save up for a weapon that's a lot more intimidating than a pistol, she guesses a few caps isn't much. She puts her jacket on and steps outside. Nat gives her the most improper salute she's ever seen in her life. She returns it with a real one, vowing to teach her how to do one right one day.

  
Fortunately for her, Nick doesn't think to press the issue. She coughs. "Sorry. We got back pretty late and I forgot to set- I woke up late." 

  
"No worries. I don't need sleep, so time isn't an issue for me." Nick tells her candidly, motioning for her to follow him to his office. "You handled yesterday's situation well."

  
"We did." She corrects him. "And I have to say that you did, too. In fact, you handled it so well I was wondering where you were hiding your badge."

  
"And I was wondering where you kept yours." Nick says, with a sly smile. As they pass the neon sign that points to his residence, he looks to her over his shoulder. The light reflects off his sly smile.

  
She wasn't exactly in law enforcement until she retired, but it was close enough. "Be patient, detective. Once we're through that door, I'll let you know."

  
"We have all day to talk." Nick takes out his keys from his pocket, opening the creaky old door. "Our mutual friend probably has a lot of work to do herself."

  
Ellie isn't in the office. Snake is relieved. It seems that he's prepared to hear what she has to say. While she doesn't doubt that Ellie is a good person, the less people that know this, the better.

  
"I gave Ellie a few days off and a raise." He explains. "She doesn't need to tell me, but judging from the bags under her eyes, she's probably been here every day all day for the last week."

  
"It's good to look out for the people who work with you." Snake tries to make herself comfortable on the chair as he seems to be doing on his own, but the lumpy thing feels as if it's going to give out any second.

  
"Before we start, let's talk about your settlement. You looked like you needed some things for it when we spoke yesterday."

  
"I need someone who knows how to build a large scale generator, a radio tower, and a really big water purifier. And someone who knows how to use this thing right." Snake puts her arm with the pip-boy on the table. She admits that building isn't really her forte. She knows how to make water drinkable and how to hunt, but that's really it. She should've paid more attention to the engineers' work back in the day, but she was too busy making sure the same men and women who knew how to do it didn't end up dead. "Schematics for turrets and the like would be useful too."

  
"All essentials for a safe and self sufficient settlement." Nick raps his fingers on the table lightly, the sound of metal on metal seemingly helping him think. "I would tell you to ask McDonough for help, but I doubt that the man would be helpful, especially given your... choice of company. Hiring someone or buying schematics would cost caps that you're probably desperate for right now. But wait... there's a vault not too far from here."

  
She gives him a questioning look. "Let me guess, the pip-boy gave it away."

  
"I suspected that you stole it at first, but it wasn't long before I connected the dots." Nick tells her without elaborating. He doesn't mention how it's strange that she doesn't know how to use the pip-boy right, but he knows he'll get answers soon enough. "The vault there might be willing to help a fellow dweller. If not, I'm sure you can come to some sort of arrangement."

  
A vault that lasted this long? Odd. Preston told her that most of the ones discovered were 'unoperational'. "Thanks, Nick. I'll mark it down on my map and head over soon."

  
"There's also a mercenary in Goodneighbor, man by the name of MacCready. The man knows how to run his mouth, but from what I hear, he knows his way with a rifle. He might be useful to have as a sentry." 

  
"I like the way you think, detective. I hope you're not just passing me this because he's giving you commissions. I'll also need some armor for my settlers. The men we fought had nice guns, but their suits don't exactly stop bullets." Meanwhile, she still needs to get more people to man the retrieval team. Codsworth should do for now, and she's forever thankful that she decided to get a battle-ready Mr. Gutsy despite Nora's protests.

  
May she rest in peace, but the sweet waitress she met at the twenty four hour diner definitely was unhappy about a lot of her wife's choices. She didn't like how Snake always wore her dog tags around, even if she kept them under her clothes. The same tags she's wearing right now has their gold wedding bands on the chain. She couldn't bear to separate or throw them away, but she knew she couldn't go around wearing it without being a bigger target for muggings around here.

  
She remembers the last nights with Nora where the two of them slept on very opposite sides on their queen sized bed. Snake recalls seeing her wife look at the ring on her finger in the dark, spinning it slowly for hours on end in the night when she thought she was the only one awake, finally taking it off just before the sun rose on the day the nuclear bombs fell. Even if the war didn't happen, she knew their marriage wasn't going to last. Their newborn baby wouldn't change that.

  
Nick ponders for a bit if he should throw out the suggestion. "If you find your way towards Goodneighbor, there's a place on the way called the Combat Zone. My sources tell me it's some kind of club, raider exclusive. They stage fights to entertain and such, keep slaves there, all sorts of unpleasant business. I've been wanting to pay them a visit for a while, but I think my metal skin will make me one easy target to take out."

  
"That many people, huh?" Snake bites her lip. Raiders do wear a lot of improvised armor that she can loot. "I could sneak inside in a disguise. Blending in would make taking them out easier."

  
"I have a lot of work to catch up on after being gone for so long, but I'm sure this is the kind of trouble Piper would be up for." He tells her, looking down at the pistol on her hip. "Hmm... you might want to get a bigger weapon for this one."

  
"Yeah... well..." Snake cringes as she remembers her financial state. "That's not exactly an option right now. But the disguise will help some, I hope. We might need to make Dogmeat look a bit more vicious, though. Maybe I'll have him roll around in mud and spike his fur up or something."

  
It takes Nick a few seconds to process that she is indeed serious about this plan. "You're really hell bent about keeping your settlers safe. That's an admirable trait, putting yourself in this much danger just to get them some armor."

  
Snake sighs. "Well, it's a place called Sanctuary. I'm not going to let the people there be massacred twice within my lifetime and not do anything about it."

  
"Twice?" Nick bangs on the side of his head to make sure his hearing isn't malfunctioning. "No one has lived there since before the war."

  
"Exactly." Snake takes a deep breath. This is what she rescued him to talk about, so she may as well do it now. "You might want to ready your notebook for this."

 

* * *

 

 _Nick, you lucky bastard_. He's probably hearing all of her dirty little secrets right now. The sun is starting to go down and she still hasn't heard back from either of them yet. Sipping on a bottle of nuka cola, Piper sighs and listens to her old printer churning out copies of her new article. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, Nat was probably right when she said they'd have to get it fixed or even scrapped soon. It certainly sounds like it's on it's last legs and the ink is starting to look faded or blotchy in some parts.

  
"Put the gun down, now!"

  
Piper hardly hears him over the printer's sound, but the command prompts her to look at the source of the voice. Two Diamond City guards have their guns out and pointed straight at... Kyle?  Yeah, she knows him. Kyle doesn't exactly send the elder Wright sister flowers or anything, but Nat tells her that he buys every new article she puts out. Riley, his brother, doesn't share the same feelings about her paper but he's never been too vocal about it.

  
But that can't be why Kyle is pointing his gun at him right now.

  
"I'm not a synth, Kyle, I swear to God!"

  
_Oh, shit_. Three things happen simultaneously. Nat comes walking home from her school with a boy and a girl, laughing as she hears some stupid joke the other girl made. Nick and Snake appear from the alley where his office is located, wide eyed and confused. Piper runs towards the brothers and the guards, her feet carrying her faster than she's run in a long time.

"Kyle, stop!" She yells, but he doesn't budge.

  
"He's been acting... he's been acting fucking weird, okay?" Kyle's aim is shaky, sweat pouring from the pores of his reddening cheeks as he slurs his words to her. "You said it yourself, they look just like us."

  
Nat gasps and drops her purple backpack. Piper can only hear it because no one else dares to make a sound, lest they find a gun on them too.

  
"Exactly! You can't tell the difference between the two, so put your gun down!" There is no way her sister sees someone dying today and there is no fucking way someone is dying because of her article. "Nobody is getting shot today!" She enunciates her words clearly like a mantra, hoping to convince everyone it's true. She doesn't even know if it is.

  
The guard who had his pipe rifle aimed at Kyle's head turns to face the reporter, with the veins on his hand popping hard as if he's struggling to keep it on his gun and not on her throat. He does the second best thing and slaps her instead, hard enough to send her reeling the other way. It surprises even Piper herself that she's able to keep herself upright.

  
Several onlookers gasp, but again, not a word is spoken.

  
"What the hell are you doing?" The other guard turns his head at his partner. By now, even Kyle has stopped aiming at his brother and started watching.

  
"You shut up, Piper." The man towers over her, getting more uncomfortably close with every word he spits at her. "You have done nothing but make our lives harder since you and that sister of yours moved here. All of this is your fault-"

  
A gunshot rings in the air and Kyle's pipe gun clatters to the ground. Screams break out in the crowd before they see there's no blood on the dirt or anywhere else. Snake stomps towards Kyle, putting her gun back as she ignores Takahashi's automated question for the fourth time today. The last rays of today's sun gives her enough light to see what she's looking for.

  
His eyes are dilated. Red skin.

  
"Solomon." She leers towards his general direction. As usual, he looks stoned off his gourd with that stupid smile of his. At his look of acknowledgment, Snake glares at him and grabs Kyle's arm. "You're going to stop selling this guy psycho. He could have seriously hurt someone."

  
The resident chem dealer looks like he's ready to complain, but even he's not high enough to do that after seeing her shoot.

  
"And you," Snake clenches her fists as she approaches the guard who slapped Piper. "You owe Piper a public apology, I believe. You're a Diamond City guard, damn it, so you'd better start acting like one and stop slapping people who are actually doing this place some good. I know that your guys were the ones who let the big green neighbors of ours move in so close because you were too scared to fight them, I know how you used to take cuts from the goods that went in and out of the city. The people deserve to know and you should know that you can do better." An infuriating smirk graces her features. "I've read every single one of the Publick's articles for the past year or so. Not one of them encouraged fratricide as a fun hobby, so stop it and do your job instead of blaming the boogeyman reporter for everything."

  
Piper holds her stinging cheek in her hand. It's unknown to most people, but the reporter knows that Nick keeps records of a lot of things like just about every article she's ever put out. She believes she found out just why it took him and her new companion six hours to 'talk'. 

  
The guard is wearing a mask but Snake can feel the animosity being glared into her. She'll have to watch her back around here some more now, but it's not as if she wasn't doing it before anyway. He mumbles something under his breath and turns around, roughly grabbing Kyle's arm and dragging him away. "Come on, you're spending a few days in lockup."

  
"I'm sorry about that." The other guard nods to her before hurrying after his partner.

  
The crowd starts to disperse. Riley still stands in shock of what happened, but several people walk up to him to try and comfort him. Withing seconds, his friends are walking him in the direction of the Dugout Inn.

  
"What a dickwad." Snake sneers but puts her hand on Piper's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

  
"Yeah, thanks." Piper smiles, ignoring the pain of her surely blooming bruise. She sniffs.

  
"You're not getting emotional on me, aren't you, Piper?" Nick raises his eyebrow.

  
"No, Nick." She sniffs more. "Do you smell that?"

  
The scent of thick, heavy smoke hits them all at once. Nat tugs at her sister's sleeve. "Sis, the press!"

  
Piper turns around to see Snake running towards a pile of fire and she lets out a string of curses in her head. Snake pours the contents of her canteen on the machine, showering it with water, but not nearly enough of it. "Someone, get more water!"

  
It doesn't take the four of them long to put it out, but it takes too long nevertheless. By the time the fire is completely gone, the printing press Piper put hundreds of caps into years ago has completely collapsed on the ground. It's melted in some parts and it smells of steam and ink. And failure. 

  
None of them have any idea what to say.

  
"Well, I guess you were right." Piper ruffles Nat's hair and makes her best effort to grin. It's not a very good one. "It's time to replace the old gal."

  
"Okay." Nat is uncharacteristically quiet. Her face is pale and beads of sweat are starting to form on her forehead. "Um, I'm gonna do my homework." She opens the door to the Publick and closes it behind her before anyone can follow.

  
This is the first time Nat didn't have to be told to homework. Piper groans. Her younger sister never does that unless she's supremely upset about something.

  
"This hasn't happened before, hasn't it?" Nick finally speaks up when the younger Wright is out of earshot.

  
"No, but the old girl is pretty rusty and old." Piper sighs. "I usually watch it to make sure it doesn't overheat. If it does, I turn it off and continue in half an hour or so, but..." She looks towards where Kyle had his standoff. 

  
"Hold it, Piper." Nick gets his face all up in the ruined machine and takes a deep whiff. "I'm going to guess that your ink's not made of alcohol."

  
"Um, no." Piper denies. "I switched out once the old girl here started overheating too much... so it wouldn't catch fire." Her eyes widen in realization of her own words. She scolds herself for not realizing something was off sooner. "A-And that fire earlier... it shouldn't have been so big."

  
Snake puts a hand on Piper's shoulder, picking up on that stutter. "Piper, are you okay?"

  
"We shouldn't talk about this in public." She lowers her voice, knowing she didn't answer her question. "Nick, can we talk about this in your office once Nat goes to bed?"

  
"You're always welcome in my office, Piper. Of course." He gives the two a nod before departing. Knowing Nick, he'll already have a bunch of leads by the time they come by but she'd better find whatever she can beforehand.

  
The reporter hopes she won't regret this. She lowers her head to the remains of her machine and takes a whiff. "It's... vodka from the Colonial Taphouse."

  
"You can tell just by the smell?" Snake whistles. "Impressive. I'm assuming that's the name of a bar."

  
"It's a bar on the upper stands of this city, where the people who are swimming in caps hang out." She explains. "I know it's from there because if it's from the Dugout Inn, well... the Bobrov brothers don't clean whatever they put their booze in enough and It's pretty obvious if you taste or smell anything from there."

  
"And here I thought it had something to do with too many birthday shots."

  
"I wish that were the case." She mumbles but doesn't say more about it. "I should go see if Nat is okay."

  
Snake shuffles her feet awkwardly. "Do you want me to go?"

  
"No, it's okay." She has no idea what to say about all of this. Where would she even start? That people will probably blame the two of them anyway for what happened or how someone managed to sabotage their printing press in the middle of all this?

  
Snake follows Piper inside the Publick, wondering the same thing she is. Is it even safe for the eldest Wright to travel with her and leave her sister here?

  
"Nat?" Piper softly calls out.

  
After a while, the girl replies. "What?"

  
"How are you doing, sweetie?"

  
It takes another moment for her to speak up. "Okay. Just finishing up my homework."

  
The young woman represses her groan this time. This is going to be one difficult conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, we had a switch of focus for a little bit to Sole. I felt like it was kind of necessary because I bet some of you were scratching your heads wondering why she's looking at Piper like that if she's still... y'know, thinking of her dead wife. Now, I promise Nora won't be a harpy or cockblock them somehow because while she'll be mentioned, she won't show up because she's dead. I'm not going to reveal everything in one big exposition bomb because then there won't be any mystery, hence why the conversation with Nick wasn't showed. 
> 
> See y'all next week and have a great weekend! 
> 
> P.S: My school professor sounds exactly like Nick and today he made robot noises and I cracked up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... I changed the rating from M to E, lol. Part of this is because I want to write full blown smut in the future chapters and because it's a Fallout story and will likely feature lots of violence. I won't go into full gory and gross details, but hey. 
> 
> But then again, you're the one who's reading so it's really your choice. Full blown smut or "fade to black" smut scene? Comment below as always to show me someone's still reading :)

Well, this is awkward.

  
Piper has no idea what spurred her to tell Snake to stay. She blames it on nerves because even now, her chest is still beating wildly from everything. At least the woman has the brain to stay out of her way, respectfully staying back and leaning against the furthest wall. God, she could use a smoke.

  
Meanwhile, the vault dweller tries to tune out the conversation behind the makeshift wall where Nat sleeps. There are so many things on her to-do list and she needs a change of clothes, a stiff drink, and some stress relief. Scratch that, she needs to start taking care of everything right now. Dogmeat nudges her hand, asking for a pet after a long day. She obliges and gives him a few scratches behind his ear. A game of fetch would be good to end the day. She'll have to see if she can find a stick or a ball lying around somewhere.

  
Snake cannot believe she's literally in a post-apocalyptic world and she's still worrying about money. She'd try to tally the approximate amount of caps she would need, but without a clear understanding on how prices are in this place, she can't even do that.

  
She wonders when she can comfort Shaun the way Piper is comforting her sister, or if she'll even be able to. 

  
"I don't want you to go!" Nat breaks the series of hushed whispers. "I don't care that some of my classmates are mean to me because they think we're crazy! I care about how you've been targeted by people for the umpteenth time and I don't know if they're finally going to get you one day and now they're targeting the paper! We work so hard to do this, Piper, and they're trying to ruin that!"

  
"Nat, I promise-"

  
"You can't promise me that!" Her voice shatters into broken sobs. "That's what papa used to say... before... before..."

  
Piper hugs her sister, muffling her cries. She tries to pick her up and cradle her like she used to, only to see how hard it is to do that. Nat's growing up, of course she's starting to catch on to the things she tells her just to make her feel better.

  
She can't treat her like a child anymore. She knows how fast you have to mature to survive in this godforsaken world, she just wishes it weren't so.

  
"Hey Nat, do you know how to fight?"

  
Piper's head snaps to the source of the voice. Snake appears right behind her, looking as relaxed as one can be during such a stressful conversation. Her glare sends her message clearly. _What the hell do you think you're doing?_

  
"I would if Piper would teach me." Nat uses Piper's scarf to wipe away the tears from her eyes, immediately collecting herself.

  
Piper rolls her eyes. "You already know how to fight. Remember how you broke Pete's nose and got a month of detention for it?"

  
Snake chuckles and shakes her head fondly. "Y'know, I think you take after your sister a lot. I mean that in the best way. I haven't known her for very long, but..."  She lowers herself and whispers to the young girl. "I can confidently say she's super awesome."

  
"I know my sister is amazing." Nat sulks. "She's my sister, duh."

  
"Then I can tell you that if you're anything like her, you're going to turn out amazing too." The Commonwealth newcomer kneels and holds her hand out. "We've talked, but I don't think we've formally met. My name is Snake and I'm going to be working with your sister and I promise you I'll put myself in harm's way before I let something happen to her."

  
Nat just stares at her like she's waiting for the punchline. "That's obviously not your real name and it's stupid. Besides, you don't look like you're that good at taking care of yourself." She deadpans, obviously staring at the woman's face.

  
"Natalie Wright!" Piper narrows her eyes and scolds her.

  
"No, no, she's right." Snake soothes the other woman. "I'm not that good at taking care of myself but I'm really good at taking care of other people, not that your sister really needs help doing that. Wanna hear about how I got this?" She points to the her face.

  
"You're gonna have to specify, you've got a lot of them." Nat very honestly tells her.

  
Piper reminds herself to teach Nat a thing called subtlety some time.

  
"This one." Snake turns her head to show the burn mark on the right side of her face. "I was guarding some doctors, right, and there were a lot of bad guys after us. I needed to get them to a settlement so they could patch up people there. Before we could get there, we were ambushed. I was the only one left who could defend them and an enemy thought he'd test out a grenade on us. So he threw it at us and I shot it in the middle of the air. It exploded, causing this." She points to the same spot on her face. "It also blew them all back but gave us enough time to escape. So half of my face was a mess, but the doctors were completely fine." God, what an impossibly delightful and PG version of the story.

  
"No way are you that good with a gun." Nat stubbornly crosses her arms.

  
"Oh, but she is." Piper smiles down at her.

  
"You're a smart girl, Nat. And you were right, no one can promise you anything in this world. So that's why we take care of each other, to make sure we all get to go home to our families. And you know, I think you're old enough to start learning."

  
The founder of Publick Occurrences is this close to asking Snake what the fuck she's thinking until she looks at the stars in Nat's eyes.

  
"Sis, are you really going to finally teach me how to fight?" Nat pulls on her arm repeatedly. "Huh? Huh?"

  
Snake nods at her. Piper has a moment of doubt, but considers the world outside Diamond City. The Great Green Jewel is a paradise compared to the rest of the Commonwealth. Nat hasn't been out of here in years. A grim thought comes to her, one that's always been at the back of her mind: her sister needs to learn how to take care of herself. She can't leave her here for Ellie and Nick to babysit forever.

  
"Okay, I'll teach you." She reluctantly gives in. True, she's quite the shot with a pistol, but her many misadventures have only showed her that there's more to fighting that that. Discomfort swirls in her stomach, and it churns even more at the excited hug Nat is crushing her with.

  
"This is awesome!" Nat poses like she's holding a gun, pretending to shoot it. "I'm gonna learn how to shoot raiders and bad guys!"

  
Now this is what Piper was always afraid of, and now she has to face that there's probably no way to avoid it. No way unless she wants more of a chance of finding her sister dead in a ditch in the future, that is.

  
"Hey, now," Snake puts her hand on her head, giving it a quick stroke. "We're going to teach you how to defend yourself, not hurt people. I know the line can be blurry, kiddo, but you've got a good role model to guide you."

  
The vault dweller said 'we' and despite the words she just said, the reporter feels a tinge of worry that someone so adept at killing is going to be teaching her sister to do the same. "It's getting late now, so how about we start tomorrow morning?" Piper says, trying to hasten bedtime for the girl. "I'll show you some stuff before I have to go find some caps to replace the printing machine."

  
"Alright." Nat pouts. She hates her curfew like most other preteens her age but the sooner she goes to bed, the sooner she gets to shoot that gun.

  
"We're going to see Nick, but don't forget to brush your teeth!"

  
Snake gives Dogmeat an apologetic pet for leaving him for most of the day and leaving him yet again. "We'll head out tomorrow, boy. You stay here for now and keep Nat safe, okay?"

  
Piper can't help but feel her heart warm when the hound lets out an obedient bark and runs after her sister. She swears he knows exactly what they're saying sometimes. She opens the door and leaves it open behind her, reaching for the pack of cigarettes in her pocket. She lights one and takes a deep, deep puff. "Was any of that true?" She asks her, smoke leaking from her mouth.

  
"What, the story? It was severely toned down, but yeah." Snake chuckles. "Children get lied to a lot. I've always believed in teaching them to face the truth instead of shielding them in a comforting lie because they can't stay in the dark forever."

  
"That's... a really good point, Blue." _The truth will set you free_. Maybe it's time she lets Nat learn it too. "I think you'd make a good mom."

  
A cynical smile appears on her face but it's hidden in a second. "Thanks, Piper." If only she knew.

  
"Sorry, was that a weird thing to say?" Piper immediately asks her, embarrassed. "I meant that I didn't think you'd be so good with kids."

  
"I love kids. It doesn't look like Nat's gonna be a kid for that much longer, though."

"She's turning thirteen next month." Piper laughs softly, it's almost scary how fast she's growing up. 

"That explains it." The corner of Snake's lips curls up into a wistful smile. "She's starting to look like you." 

She's right. She's starting to see herself in Nat's eyes when she's angry and the round cheeks that she's always loved to pinch are giving way to a set of cheekbones that are remarkably similar to her own. "Should we head out to Nick's, then?" Piper puts out her cigarette. "We've got work to do."

  
"After you, milady."

  
Even after the shops close at night, Diamond City never really sleeps. On the way to the detective agency, by a group of men playing cards and drinking. A few more steps later and they come across a guard tossing three pills of mentats into his mouth before he stops them, walking away immediately. It never ceases to surprise Snake how this place would be considered a slum in the days before the war, yet it's apparently the best place to be here. Things really have changed.

  
When Nick opens the door for them and lets them in, Snake sees that the mountain of Piper's articles has been tidied up and put back into a box among his other files. A half smoked cigarette sits on an ashtray on the detective's table.

  
"I've been working on narrowing down the list of suspects." He informs them, biting the end of his pencil as he contemplates the contents of his notebook.

  
"Can't be easy." Piper laughs uncomfortably. "There's a lot of people who don't like me."

  
"True, but at least I can cross out a few names. Namely, the ones who I saw were standing and watching that little showdown earlier instead of sabotaging your life's work."

  
"If we come to the same conclusion on who might have done this, then I'm definitely in hot water." She mutters to herself.

  
"At least we've got two master detectives in our little party, then." Snake absentmindedly comments.

  
"Let's compare notes." Nick puts his notebook down, spinning it so the two can read it.

  
 _Mayor McDonough. The Institute._

"Well, shit." Piper pinches the bridge of her nose. "We've got the same idea."

  
The prime suspect of her son's kidnapping and her wife's murder. This just got a whole lot more complicated. "So you two suspect the same people. Is it because of that article you wrote the day I met you?"

  
Nick and Piper give each other a look. The reporter takes a deep breath. "It's not just that. Mayor McDonough has a lot of reasons to hate me."

  
Snake nods, knowing perfectly what she's talking about. The name McDonough came up a lot in her article surfing earlier. "If he hates you so much then why are you still allowed in this city? Looks to me that people up here don't care much for fairness. No offense."

  
"That certainly is true, so no offense taken." Nick wonders how to phrase his next words correctly. "Although people here have mixed feelings about our friend here, no one can deny that she's definitely done a lot of good for the city. If she stays, people can still think of her as a snoopy lunatic, but if she and her sister gets kicked out..."

  
"People will start to see that she's right and that the mayor ejected her from this place so she doesn't get in his way." Snake finishes his point.

  
Piper ignores that part about her being a snoopy lunatic, mostly because she's been called so many things it doesn't faze her much anymore. "Now that I think about it, maybe it is more likely that it's McDonough and not the Institute. They usually kick down doors and shoot people, not set printers on fire."

  
"Or it could be the Institute and they're giving you a warning for the same reason. If you and your sister were, uh, taken out so soon after your article came out, it would only prove you right about the threat they pose."

  
"But there's nothing anyone can do about that. It's not like we know where the front door to the Institute is, so I'd just be dead and out of their way."

"Or maybe the entrance to the Institute isn't as hidden as we all thought and they'd like to keep people from actively looking for it because of that." Nick adds.

  
Snake feels a throb at the back of her skull from all this. "So basically we have no idea who could have done it."

  
"Hmm... I could start asking around tomorrow to see if anyone saw anything." Nick considers.

  
"Wait, no." Piper stops him. "They obviously tried to make it look like an accident, if you do that then whoever did it is bound to figure out what we're up to."

  
"Another theory suggests that they did it to get you out of Diamond City-"

  
"-Because they know I'm going to get some more money to get a new printer. And they're doing it because something is going to happen really soon here."

  
Snake feels a full on migraine settling in. She considers herself a pretty smart person, but all this Institute business is flying over her head. "So basically we have no idea who did it or why, to get Piper out of here because they're going to pull something time sensitive that she can't be around for, or to warn her."

  
"That's the gist." Piper confirms.

  
"Then I have an idea. Nick's going to stay here so he can keep track of what happens here, I'm going to stay with Piper outside the city and keep her in my sights at all times to make sure they're not luring her outside to kill her quietly or something. I promise we'll have enough money to get you a new printer."

  
"Blue... they're not really cheap to build. Where are we going?" She asks, curiously.

  
The synth looks at Snake. "You haven't told her, haven't you?"

  
Snake takes a deep breath. "I wanted to ask if you were up for dressing up as raiders to sneak in and secure the Combat Zone and go to Goodneighbor with me."

  
"Um, no offense, but do you even know what happens in Goodneighbor?" Piper feels like she needs a shower just by thinking of that place. "You either get stabbed or get so fucked up you wake up naked in a Deathclaw nest."

  
"So I take that as a yes for the Combat Zone, then?"

  
Piper thinks for one second. "Sure."

  
"And Goodneighbor?" Snake asks, full of hope. "Look, I'm not going to go on a wild drug trip there, I just need to hire some hotshot mercenary to guard Sanctuary."

  
"Hire him with what money?" The reporter asks, genuinely confused.

  
Snake laughs nervously as all eyes in the room are on her. "The money I'm going to get by hitting the Combat Zone..."

  
Nick is completely silent even though he knew part of her plan beforehand. Piper follows suit. "That's... a bold plan." She comments. "After seeing what you can do in Park Street station, I think it might work."

  
"Oh, it will. I have a plan." She sees the skeptical looks aimed at her. "I think."

 

* * *

 

"Pull your feet more this way. That way, you won't get blown back by the recoil."

  
Piper groggily puts her trusty hat on her head, rubbing her eyes.

  
"Okay, that's good. Make sure your aim is straight like I showed you."

  
Huh. She must've slept in again, and now she's missing her sister's shooting lessons which she's supposed to be teaching. A loud clang comes from her patio. Curiously, Piper forces herself to get up and opens the door very quietly.

  
"That was really close." Snake hopes that stray bullet won't be hard to fish out of the wall. "You did it right, Nat, this pipe pistol's just not maintained very well. I'll try to fix this up or bring you another one the next time we meet, okay? Take care of your weapon and your weapon will take care of you."

  
"No, I'm gonna hit it this time, just you watch!"

  
"Okay, show me how it's done." Snake watches, rubbing her hands together in excitement.

  
Nat is one smart kid. Piper carefully examines her form, the way she holds the weapon. She's inevitably quite stiff but if her older sister didn't know better, she'd think that she's been doing this for a while. The preteen takes a calm breath, pulling the trigger. The bullet comes flying and hits the empty can set up by the wall, and it clatters down.

  
The three stay quiet for a few seconds, only the ambient noise of the bustling market being heard. Then Nat jumps up and down, screaming at the top of her lungs as if she'd just won a thousand caps.

  
"Uh, Nat, finger off the trigger when you're not shooting." Snake nervously eyes the gun.

  
"Sis, you're awake!" Nat says, shoving the gun at the vault dweller's hand. She heads to her sister, pointing at the fallen can. "Did you see that?"

  
"I sure did, baby girl. You did great." Piper tries not to yawn. They got back much too late last night. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

  
"I tried."

  
"You looked really tired and we have quite the journey to walk today, so we thought we'd let you rest." Snake explains, trying not very well to keep her eyes on Piper's face. The reporter is wearing that stupid nerdy top again, and this time the vault dweller discovers that she likes to sleep in her underwear. _Very charming_ , she finds herself thinking at the sight of her simple crimson panties, alarming herself when she detects no sarcasm from the voice in her head.

  
The reporter's long, toned legs are by no chance devoid of her own scars. From one that looks like a mark from an animal's bite to a faded line that could've been from a knife or a bullet graze, it's clear she's seen her share of hazards. 

  
"Oh darn, what time is it?" Piper wonders out loud. "Could you check on that pip boy of yours?"

  
Snake tears her eyes away a second too late. "It's almost nine." She tells her, knowing that she's been caught staring yet again.

  
"Darn it, I'd better get ready." She still has to pack her blanket and rations and leave some caps for Nat this week.

  
"You go do that, I'll make you coffee and bring you guys some noodles."

  
"Thanks, Blue." Piper is admittedly a bit embarrassed for sleeping in for two days straight and leaving her guest to get food for her and her sister. "I'll pay you back!"

  
"It's on me." Snake politely refuses.

  
When Snake heads back inside, Nat doesn't waste time before telling her sister exactly what she thinks of her. "Please don't let her die."

  
"Whoa, whoa, where did that come from?" Piper rubs her eyes tiredly. "I didn't think you liked her that much yesterday."

  
Nat shrugs. "She's kinda cool, I guess. She does cool tricks with her gun."

  
That's Nat-speak for 'I think she's really awesome'. Piper regrets sleeping in and missing whatever magic her partner used to bewitch the younger Wright. Aside from herself, Nick, and Ellie, there's not many others that Nat doesn't consider a nuisance. "Well, okay, I'll make sure she comes back in one piece. Be good while I'm away, okay? I'll try to find something to bring back for you."

  
"Okay, I'll be waiting." She hugs her again, longer this time. It's the way they always hold each other before Piper goes on one of her trips and even over the years, it never shortens in length. The only thing that's changed is that she doesn't have to kneel down like she used to anymore. "I'm gonna pack my stuff for school. See you."

  
"See you." Piper presses a kiss to her sister's forehead.

  
Nat leaves, leaving her alone on her patio. She sees Snake at Takahashi's, patiently waiting for the food to be served to her. Their eyes meet and the vault dweller waves to her, smiling. Piper waves back, the tiniest of smiles worming it's way to her face. After a few seconds, she heads back inside. It's a good idea to hurry up and get ready instead of smiling and waving at the woman for five whole minutes in her underwear like an asshole because the entire reason she's buying food for them is so she can change. Besides, if Snake can see her from down there then everyone else who's paying attention can too, and showing the entirety of Diamond City what kind of underwear she's wearing isn't in Piper's agenda.

  
It was fun to see her stare, though.

  
"Who are you waving at, kid?" An aging woman asks the vault dweller. Her hair is pulled into a loose bun and she leans on the counter in wait for her own noodles.

  
"Just a new friend."

  
"I saw where you were lookin'. Publick Occurrences, hm? Guess you're talking about Piper." She quickly deduces.

  
"Yes, I am." Curiosity gets the better of Snake and she can't help but ask. "Do you know her?"

  
At her answer, the woman's eyes light up immediately. "Yeah, I know her. She comes to my store. My name's Becky, by the way. I run Fallon's Basement over there. You new here?"

  
"You can say that." She has no idea, just like everyone else. 

  
"Then it's a relief to know you choose your friends well." Becky says, her tone much friendlier. "I've known Piper since she first got here. Pretty girl, has good style. Nice smile, right?"

  
"I think that much is obvious." Snake chuckles sheepishly. "I think she'd make rags look like it's worth a hundred caps."

  
Becky nods in agreement. "That girl could have the entire upper stands eating out of her hand if she just stayed out of trouble and hung out with anyone but the synth and that sister of hers."

  
"I think it's admirable, actually." Snake raises her eyebrow at the eldery woman's statement. "I hear she's cleaned up the city a lot since she got here, and it can't be easy doing all that while looking after a younger sister. Makes me wish she was the first person I ran into when I came here."

  
Predictably, Becky just assumes she means she's from outside of the Commonwealth and doesn't pry. "Oh, you've got me wrong. I think it's admirable too. Diamond City security doesn't really like me, you see. It's been that way since my husband was taken a few years ago."

  
Now that gets her attention. "Taken?"

  
Her face darkens. "Yeah. By the Institute. I raised up a real stink because the guards wouldn't look into it and I've been on their shit list ever since."

  
"It looks like the guards need to do their jobs." Snake mutters, remembering the incident yesterday. Nick did tell her that this enigmatic Institute has taken people from here before. 

  
"I think it was three years ago. Piper and Natalie had just moved here and they were still trying to get their big sign up when she came here looking to buy a hat." The day is still fresh in her mind. "I just had my store broken into and half of my stuff was gone. She wasted no time in helping me and came back three days after with the name of the fella who robbed me. When I saw him in jail and had all my stuff returned, I gave her that hat and a lifetime discount."

  
"That's... wow. I'm not surprised Piper would do that, but that's impressive." She hasn't seen that kind of drive much in the Commonwealth, and not even in the old world she lived in. "I've seen the guards in this city at work and I'm not exactly thrilled about it, so I thought I'd let you know that I'll help you out if you need me. Free of charge." 

  
"I think _you're_ really impressive, kid." Becky gives Takahashi a few caps for her bowl of steaming noodles. "I saw what you did yesterday, you know. It's nice to know someone's finally standing up for that girl aside from herself and her sister. Good shooting arm, too."

  
"Thanks, ma'am." Snake looks at the clock on her pip boy and hopes she's not taking too long. "I'm pretty old fashioned that way. I never did like seeing something wrong and not doing anything about it."

  
Becky laughs. "Then it's no wonder you two get along. Don't tell anyone I told you this, but she likes sweet things and books. Her favorite color's red."

  
"I guessed that last part." The vault dweller chuckles. "But why are you telling me this?"

  
"I haven't gone blind yet, kid. Becky Fallon's got eyes like a... like a... well, I've got a good pair of 'em." She inches closer to her ear. "And I saw the way you were looking at her."

 

* * *

 

  
Their breakfast goes fairly well. Nat asks Snake for stories from her travels and the woman is happy to oblige. She tells her this story of her in a suit of power armor rescuing a group of people in Concord and killing a deathclaw with nothing more than a pistol and a knife, unfortunately sacrificing the power armor in the ensuing melee. The story is so outrageous that Piper nearly doesn't believe it herself.

  
By the time Nat leaves for school and she locks up the office to head for her journey to what has to be the seediest area in the entire Commonwealth, Piper can't help but ask. "So... did that really happen? Again?" 

  
"Unfortunately, yeah. You'll need something a lot stronger than a pistol to take a deathclaw down from range. Makes me miss having a proper rifle." Snake sighs wistfully. "This goes for the damn super mutants too. I almost didn't figure that out until it was too late."

  
"Yeah, talking about super mutants, I'll show you the route that doesn't have a lot of them. I generally just take the long way instead of trying to fight them." She carefully looks around. The big lugs have been known to explore the surroundings of her city.

  
"A wise choice." Snake remembers the day she first came to Diamond City. Helping those guards fight off the mutants was not easy at all. "They have shitty loot, anyway. No caps, generally terribly maintained weapons, and no armor."

  
"Well, it must be really hard to take care of guns with hands that big." Piper giggles at the image.

  
"True. I can't imagine being that clumsy with mine." After a few seconds of silence, she looks at the woman walking alongside her. She raises an eyebrow, fully aware of what she just said. "What, did I say something weird?"

  
Piper would have a little trouble deciphering what she meant by that if it wasn't for the twitch in the corner of the mysterious woman's lips as she tried not to show her amusement. Two can play at that game. "No, of course not. If you're so handy, you wouldn't mind looking into my hot plate, would you? It's been acting up a lot."

  
"I would be glad to take care of it for you." Snake finds it harder and harder to keep her face straight. "Then you'll finally be able to heat things up, right?"

  
"I've just been dying to eat something hot for the longest time."

  
"Hey, Piper?"

  
"Yeah?"

  
"What terrible porn novel did you steal that line from?" She snorts, finally unable to contain her laughter.

  
Piper's jaw drops and she starts sputtering, making a very convincing show of being terribly offended. "Hey, I don't plagiarize! Also, my hot plate actually is broken. What did you think I was-... oh. Oh, Blue." She gasps, faking bashfulness.

  
"Oh." Snake finds trouble finding anything to say. The horrified look on her face shows enough.

  
Piper would be laughing out loud if that wouldn't be giving their position away to just about everyone within a few blocks. Instead, she waits an excruciatingly long time to soak up that stupid expression into her memory and looks away.

  
To Snake's bemusement, a hand is clamped tightly over the black haired woman's mouth and her shoulders are shaking. She's laughing. "Har har, Piper. You win that one."

  
It takes moments for the laughter to subside. "I didn't become a reporter because I was bad at words, y'know."

  
"And this is why I'm the dumb grunt who just shoots things, I guess." Snake sighs. "I suppose you'd know that your tongue is your best weapon."

  
Now that one stops her right in her tracks. "You just don't give up, do you?"

  
"Nope." Snake stops where they are, facing the reporter. "I've been told that I'm very persistent."

  
What a coincidence. "Funny. I've been called that a lot too."

  
"Now, Ms. Wright, I'd love to continue our banter here but we really need to get those raider disguises soon." Snake chuckles. "We're not exactly very well armed so I have no idea why no one's tried to rob us. Damn, my entire plan hinged on that happening."

  
Now that she mentions it, they are pretty close to their first destination. "Yeah, we're just two lightly armed ladies walking their dog close to Goodneighbor and the Combat Zone. Who wouldn't want to rob us?"

  
"Piper." She whispers.

  
"Don't touch your weapons or we blow a bunch of holes in ya." A man in a gas mask appears from behind a wrecked car and points his pipe pistol at them as his friend follows close behind. His skin is blackened with dust and so is his ragged armor or rusted metal and leather.

  
Dogmeat growls but doesn't dare make a move without a command. When none comes, he looks back with an attention getting whimper and runs away whining.

  
The second raider doesn't look much different except for his lack of a helmet. He has a sinister smirk on his face that suits the rest of the grime on him. "Diamond City ladies, I'm guessin'. Wouldn't be so clean otherwise."

  
"You're not gonna be so clean when we're done with you." The first raider snickers as he looks at the second one. "I get the one in red, you can have scarface."

  
Suddenly, a rumbling snarl and a yelp of pain draws his attention away from them. Dogmeat's jaws are locked around the arm the second raider is using to hold his gun. "Fucking mutt, thought you left for good!" He raises his own gun to shoot the dog but doesn't even come close.

  
Snake bears her elbow down on his and grabs his gun hand, throwing him to the ground. Before he can protest, she points the barrel of his own gun at the gaps of his helmet and shoots. Warm blood splatters on her face.

  
Piper fires at his friend, helpless in Dogmeat's iron jaws. She gives him a quick shot to the head that ends his life fairly quickly.

  
"Well, that was a lot faster than my plan." Snake looks at the pooling blood on the ground. "I kind of still want to be Jane the mercenary and her boss, Lily the novelist from New York, though."

  
"I'm sure there will be other opportunities for that, Blue." Piper wrinkles her nose. The scent of blood does nothing to hide the overwhelming smell of cheap alcohol and sweat. "How did you know they were coming, anyway?"

  
"Would you believe me if I said I smelled them from a block away?" Snake sighs. She'll have to shower really well after this is over. She drags the body to the doorway of a dusty and decrepit building that must've been a convenience store two hundred years ago. "C'mon, let's get into our master disguises. I bet there's a place here where we can hide our stuff."

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bar fight, anyone? As usual, leave a comment to let me know people are still reading! This chapter is a bit action-heavy, but Piper can always find time in a busy fight to be gay.

"How do I look?" Snake shakes her hair messily out of her hair tie. The black war paint she kept in her bag, which she generously shared with Piper, makes her disguise a lot more convincing.

  
"You look perfect, actually." Piper is almost envious at how eerily raider-like the other woman looks. The paint just makes her feel as dirty as the bloody helmet on her head. "I'd definitely run away from you if I saw you on the streets."

  
"Any advice before we head inside?" She just put on this disguise and she wants it off already. The settlers will have to wash all of this very thoroughly before they put it on.

  
Piper knows very well that they're walking into a shitstorm. "I don't know, Blue, I've never done this before. Just act tough, I guess?"

  
Sensing her doubt, Snake gives her a lingering pat on the back. "It's not my first time doing this. Unless they have a secret raider passcode, then we're good."

  
Just like that, Piper feels better already. The grenade hidden on her body makes for good insurance, anyway.

  
The smell that greets them as soon as they walk inside is absolutely horrifying. It can only be described as a wild orgy of old urine, sweat, vomit, and alcohol so bad even Vadim wouldn't serve it. A small room to the side has a window that displays four people dressed in rags with black and blue bruises spotting their skin, all of them chained by the wrists and ankles. A thin man makes eye contact with Snake and immediately looks down out of fear, choking down a wrecked sob. She sneers, already disliking what's going on here.

 

Piper squeezes her hand, reassuring that they'll get them out at the end of this.

  
Taking this entire place might be easier than she initially thought. Judging by the stumbling around and the empty bottles, a good amount of the raiders must be pretty drunk or high and it's only the afternoon. What grabs her attention is the large stage at the center. A cage is built around it, made of sharp and rusted wires that trap the contestants of the fight inside. The two contestants are facing away from each other on opposite sides and Piper has to squint to see what they're doing.

  
They're shooting up with something in full view of everyone who's watching and egging them on. Two men hold up burlap sacks that they take around the area, collecting caps that are carelessly tossed inside by the audience. By the time they must be quite full, a bell rings and the two fighters face each other. One is a burly shirtless man whose veins seem to be popping out of his neck and his bald head who roars into the air, obviously very invigorated by his chem of choice. His opponent is a young red haired woman whose muscular wiry arms could drop a man to the ground given the right chance. While not as tall as him, she's easily taller than both Snake and Piper. She yells a series of curses at him, her voice drowned out by the raucous cheers.

  
"Look." Snake whispers to her, eyes following the men with the betting money. They're sitting down at the bar, putting the sacks down on their sides as they order their drinks.

  
They could actually just grab it and run out as the bartender is turned away, shoot them and cover their exit with the grenades. That would definitely be a lot easier and safer than taking on all these raiders. She'll have the caps for a new printer anyway and Snake would have her own share to get a decent semi-automatic.

  
"I shot that bitch right in the kneecaps and threw her off the pier." One of them brags, lifting his mug of alcohol. "Didn't took long for her to drown, but I only found around eleven caps in her bag. It was enough for a hit of jet, so it was damn worth it!"

  
Yep, they are not taking the easy way out today.

  
"You take left, I take right." Snake suggests, whispering in Piper's ear. Her knife is sharp and her gun is ready. It's time to take out the stragglers quietly before they turn this place into a shooting gallery.

  
"What are you ladies whisperin' about?"

  
Shit. "Nothing you boys need to know about." Piper replies, hoping that'll be the end of it.

  
"Why don't you come here and tell me about it?" He pats his lap, giving her a sinister grin. "No reason why I shouldn't join in."

  
"There is, actually." Snake takes a step forward with an unhappy frown. "She's with me, so fuck off and beat it."

  
"Oh, beat it, huh?" He guffaws, looking to his friends. "This girl's got a mouth on her. Bet it's good for other stuff too."

  
"Not that you'll ever find out." She replies without missing a beat.

  
Piper is a hundred percent sure that provoking raiders isn't part of their plan. She grabs Snake's wrist. "Hey, let's just get up there and watch the fight. I don't wanna miss this one." She hopes her voice doesn't betray the worry in her.

  
Snake huffs, sending a glare towards the man that lasts long enough. "Fine. Let's go." Still, she doesn't go.

  
The reporter has to tug her away from the group of men. Once they're far enough, she's about to comment on how good she was at making that look real, until a grimy hand lands on her shoulder.  "I didn't say you could go." The raider tells them, yanking hard enough to throw off her balance.

  
Piper sees an annoyed leer flash beside her before Snake's boot-clad heel juts into his gut, sending him flying across the room and slamming into the bar, which slides back an inch or two. A mug falls over and spills booze all over his reddening face, bouncing off his skull with a painful thunk.

  
"I wasn't asking for permission." Snake puts her hands into her pockets. "And I'm pretty sure I told you to fuck off."

  
At the same time, the crowd goes wild as the redhead bobs her head to narrowly avoid a heavy right hook by the much larger man. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that raiders probably don't care about weight classes. Nevertheless, she takes advantage of the momentum in his swing to load up a left uppercut to the chin. Her hit sends his jaw snapping to the side, knocking him out cold.

  
The redhead raises her arm, spitting out blood on the unconscious body of her opponent. "It looks like we have a winner! Cait wins again! Oh, what's this? It looks like we have a little interlude here, ladies and gents!" Yells the MC as he points in their direction.

  
Piper groans internally. There goes their hopes of thinning the herd. It'll be really hard to go around and stealthily take out anyone when the spotlight is shining right at them. Dogmeat circles her, whining in confusion.

  
Snake gives her an enigmatic 'I've got this' look that she almost misses due to the glare from the lights. The raider on the ground stands up and grabs the bottle of beer he was drinking, lifting it to his lips. He gives it a mighty chug before smashing it on the counter, creating a rain of glass and beer over the counter and the floor. "You're gonna regret that, you bitch!" He charges at her without needing any extra encouragement. The sharp edges of the broken glass gleams as he readies to slash it across her face.

  
The same two men go around collecting bets as the attention of the entire Combat Zone is now fixed on them. Snake leans away and easily dodges his swing, skillfully staying out of his range. He lunges forward to close the distance and carve a gash into her face, but she weaves under his attack and jams a knee into his ribs. It connects with his armor with a sick clack that would have definitely broken a bone had he been bare skinned.

  
Piper feels the hairs on the back of her neck stick up. She knows the vault dweller has her knife with her and since her opponent is using a weapon himself, what's stopping her from using it to end the fight now? The answer becomes clear the moment she sees Snake smirk and wait for the enraged raider to get up and catch his breath.

  
She's putting on a show. She's prolonging this confrontation on purpose. Snake takes her opportunities when she can get them, catching his arm when she can't avoid it and striking him on the softer parts of him when the chance is there. None of them are lethal, none of them are fight-ending.

  
"Never seen you and your friend here before." A voice with a thick Irish accent surprises her from behind. It's the redhead from the fight. Cait. Sweat still pours from her skin and she's still breathing hard. She looks a lot bigger when she's beside the reporter. "So I'm not gonna bother to ask if you two come 'ere often."

  
It would be pointless to deny her. She's already been identified as a newcomer, there's no reason to act suspicious. "Yeah, we're not really from the area. Thought we'd drop by."

  
"Thought so." Cait smugly grins, her lips still swollen and red from the hits she took. "Then you'd better know this. People here don't play fair. Better to end the fight fast. Your pal here hasn't got the memo, hasn't she?"

  
And now Piper can confirm why dread has been swirling in her head.

  
"And people here, they're not too keen on losin'. Not many rules in the cage anyway, but this one ain't a cage fight. It's a bar fight." Cait licks her lips hungrily. "And I love a good bar fight."

  
Bar fights have no restrictions on how many people can participate and what weapons are used. Piper is unfortunately aware of that, as is everyone else.

  
"You're not really gonna let this girl school our boy, huh, Rusty?" A man on the bar nudges his friend.

  
"Let him get knocked around some more, that should show him." A raider with a thick beard and a rusty machete on his hip says, lighting a cigarette.

  
"You know how bad this is gonna make us look." His friend urges him.

  
Rusty sighs after realizing that valid point, standing up. "Hold my smoke for me. Don't finish it all or you're getting night watch for the next week."

  
Snake throws her opponent down, twisting his arm until a sickening crack marks the end of the fight.

  
"It looks like we have a winner!" The MC announces, the spotlight shining on the vault dweller and the raised machete above her head. "Oh, what's going on now?"

  
Piper doesn't think and grabs the nearest bar stool and slams it as hard as she can into the back of his head. The wooden chair breaks into pieces upon impact as he falls on the ground. Blood leaks from his ear as his fingers twitch once, then twice, and then no more. The entire Combat Zone goes silent. Cait doesn't look the least bit bothered. In fact, her grin simply grows in width.

  
"Holy shit." Another raider looks straight into Piper's eyes after he examines the bearded man. "You killed him!"

  
"He was trying to enter that fight with a machete!" She protests, but her voice is drowned out by the sound of weapons being drawn.

  
"You're gonna pay for that!" The men on the table each grab a weapon from the table, ranging from a switchblades to a butcher knife. Someone else grabs the machete from their fallen friend's hand.

  
"It seems that our interlude isn't over!" The MC announces, shining more lights in their direction, illuminating the entire bar area with rays of white. The rest of the raiders applaud, some turning tables over to barricade the area in.

  
Interestingly, Cait doesn't move to get out before the makeshift arena is locked in. "Someone pass me a swatter!" She yells into the crowd. She catches one with her right hand, a generous gift from a zealous fan. "Gimme somethin' else!" She yells again, and a crowbar comes flying at her feet.

  
The redhead kicks the crowbar towards Piper, who picks it up but gives her a puzzled look.

  
"What? Two against all of them hardly seems fair." Cait flashes a confident grin as she rests the swatter on her shoulder. "Besides, it nice to see some girls besides me who's cracking skulls here for once."

  
Snake twirls her knife with her fingers and raises it in a defensive stance, the cockiness of her smirk matching Cait's. "I guessed that a skilled fighter like you would know how to pick a winning team."

  
"I didn't think I'd be killing anyone with a chair today." Piper mutters, readying herself for the upcoming onslaught. "But I guess there's a first time for everything."

  
The sound of the applause is deafening. All at once, the dozen men bear down on them in a furious wave. A raider charges at Piper with a butcher knife, raising it high and ready to cleave her in half. She whacks him hard on the nose with the sharp edge of her crowbar and he screams as a waterfall of blood rushes down from his broken nose, grateful for the weapon Cait chose for her. The Diamond City citizen sees the tears forming in his eyes and takes the opportunity to finish him with another massive swing to the same spot. All he sees through his distorted vision is a blur and Piper puts her weight behind her attack, grunting at the impact.  
The force of her own attack vibrates through the metal of her weapon, accompanied by the loud crunch of his nose completely shattering.

  
Cait's swatter is already covered in blood as her shin connects with the head of an unfortunate fallen raider who's going to wake up with one hell of a headache. Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps behind her, she takes a shot in the dark and kicks behind her. Her heel pushes back the unsuspecting man who clutches at his stomach in pain, eventually falling on his ass as he stumbles over his own feet. The redhead's blood is pumping in her ears and she releases a mighty roar as she brings down her swatter's wrath on him. The raider tries to block with his hands, but it's a futile effort. The swatter shatters as it makes contact with the side of his face and a cloud of splinters fly in the air along with several of his teeth.

  
The fighter's fans start to chant her name, thrilled by the violent display. She raises her bloody fist, rallying the crowd.

  
"Looks like you have your share of admirers, Cait." Snake comments, ducking to avoid being hit by a swatter with a nail driven through it. She steps forward and closes the distance, plunging her knife into her attacker's belly.

  
Cait spits on the ground disdainfully. "Yeah, right. These shitebags are probably betting on how long it'll take for us to get put down."

  
"I think we'll surprise them." Snake says, using her knife to redirect the downward slash of a switchblade away from her body. She kicks the back of her attacker's knee and he falls and turns around, tossing his weapon at her face as an effort to keep her away. She blocks, hoping the salvaged armor holds against the blade, but it hits her with the butt instead. "That's harder to pull off that it looks, doesn't it?" She loads up a kick and his head snaps back as her hard boot collides with his face.

  
Piper wipes blood off her lip from the hit she just took from the back of that knife, satisfied that she put whoever gave it to her to the ground for that. Unfortunately, her triumph doesn't last long. A raider with a machete charges at her, his ropy muscles flexing as he prepares to slice into her. She holds both ends of her crowbar in place and plants her feet firmly to the ground to block him, but her luck runs out. Her weapon splits in half and his blade grazes her side. The sting of the fresh wound is numbed by the sight of him preparing for another hit.

  
The machete is raised above his head, partially blocking the lights, and Piper wonders if this is how she goes out: being hacked to death in a raider bar fight. He never brings his weapon down, however, and it clatters behind him instead. The end of a knife is sticking out of his neck as he chokes, trying to grab for it yet finding himself unable to take it out.

  
"And that is how you do it." Snake sighs in relief, glad that she found her target. The takeaway is now she's unarmed and surrounded by three raiders who look like they want to eat her alive. They snicker like wolves at the realization that she's weaponless.

  
Well, that's not exactly true. She has her gun, but they're already lunging at her with their weapons drawn and there's no time to shoot all of them. Snake leaps to her right, managing to keep her distance between the men on the left and middle, but putting herself right in striking range for the one on the right. He takes an awkwardly wide step to reach her, but his knife finds her side, cutting through armor and flesh.  
With a pained grunt, Snake grabs his still outstretched hand and puts it in a wrist lock, using him as a shield against his comrades. She gives it a rough twist and breaks the joint, throwing him at the two men after wrenching his knife away for herself. While she has a weapon again, she's also painfully aware of the warm blood seeping through her clothes and the two men still cornering her.

  
That is, until Piper hacks into one of their backs with the machete she picked up from the ground, blood spraying onto herself as she struggles to get the blade unstuck from his spine.

  
"You bitch!" The man whose attention was on Snake rushes to the reporter while her weapon is still stuck.

  
Piper pulls it out at the very last second, almost throwing her back out as she swings out at him in a wild attempt to drive him back. Her blade finds his arm, cutting him deeply and forcing him to turn back.

  
Snake leaps to her defense, sinking her knife into his back. She takes it out and stabs him again and again until he falls limp. By the time he falls, gasping his last breaths, she's completely covered in red. Breathing hard, she looks down on him with a face covered in sweat and blood like an angel of death. "Don't call her bitch, bitch."

His reply comes in a sad croak that marks his death. 

  
The fight is nearly over. Cait is dragging the last opponent's face across the bar, reveling in his screams as broken glass digs into his face. She grabs a shotgun from behind the bar, forcing the barrel into his mouth.

  
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" A somewhat pudgy ghoul in a suit yells at her.

  
"What I should've done a long time ago." Cait cocks the gun, ready to kill him. "This crowd is a heap of garbage."

  
The audience grows uneasy at her words, starting to reach for their guns themselves. Snake grabs Piper's hand. "Piper, behind the bar, now."

  
"You don't need to tell me twice." The reporter agrees, following the other woman.

  
He grabs a fistful of his neatly trimmed hair in aggravation. "So you beat up and kill half of them?! Are you fucking high? Of course you are!"

  
A gunfire gets their attention. The bullet hits a fair distance from Piper's body just before they reach the bar. The holder of the gun has a face savagely gouged by no other than the reporter's crowbar. "You again." She mutters. It's doubtful that he can even shoot straight, fortunately for her.

  
"I'm going to kill you!" He yells, before letting his rifle fire free in an uncontrolled burst.

  
Cait scowls and shoots, leaving a gaping hole in his chest. "Shut up, you janky piece of shit. You lost fair an' square." She jams the barrel back in the mouth of the man with the face full of glass, firing without a hint of doubt in her eyes. She shoots the stragglers who are trying to crawl to safety, her face growing more and more distorted by anger with every kill.

  
The thundering sound of her shotgun drives the ghoul to bury his face in his hands in sheer frustration. "Oh, little bird..."

  
Snake overturns the table behind them, pushing it against the bar in hopes that it'll make a decent enough barrier.

  
"Blue..." Piper peeks over the bar, noticing all the raiders loading their guns. "I think now's a good time to use those grenades."

  
Snake breathes heavily, holding her wound and trying to stem the flow of the blood. It's not working too well. She must've opened it more when killing that last one. "Right. I'm-"

  
The hail of gunfire starts and Cait dives into cover right on time. The bullets shatter the bottles on the back of the bar, creating a rain of cheap booze and glass to fall on them. "Damn idiots, what a waste."

  
"How bad are you hurt?" Piper frowns, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

  
"Not that bad." Snake gives her a pained grin, sure that she's really going to feel this when the adrenaline wears off. "Okay, we wait until they stop shooting to reload. Then we throw these at them. You take left, I take right. Then we wait for it to go off and start shooting whoever survives."

  
"Holy fuck, why didn't you use that earlier?" Cait's eyes bulge when she sees the two grenades. "Would've made it so much more fun."

  
Piper rolls her eyes. The redhead is obviously high if she's having fun at a time like this.

  
When the gunfire stops, Snake pulls the pin from her grenade. "Now!" She stands quickly, tossing the explosive behind the enemy's cover. Piper follows her lead, throwing her's in the other direction. The vault dweller narrowly misses a bullet that grazes her shoulder before she gets back down.

  
She feels her head getting lighter as she falls back, waiting for the explosions before she has to get up again. A second of rest is what she gets before two loud booms shake the entire room. She pushes herself onto her feet, ears ringing and gun loaded, ready to end this fight for today. Dogmeat, who's been obediently out of the way until now, is glad to hold the remaining living raiders down while the three go around putting bullets in their heads.

When she's certain the last raider is dead, Snake collapses with a huff. "Jesus Christ, that got out of hand."

  
"What happened back there?" Piper scolds, helping the woman lean back on the back. "Starting a bar fight in a raider bar wasn't the plan."

  
"I was gonna buy rounds for everyone after I won the fight and everyone's respect," Snake breathes, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Her hand comes away wet with blood, black paint, and sweat. "Then start killing when everyone was drunk."

  
Piper can admit that was a bold yet feasible plan. "I'm gonna take this off, okay? Let me take a look at that wound."

  
"I'd really appreciate that. God, I feel like shit. I must look like shit too." Snake lifts her arms, cringing in pain. She doesn't even want to smell herself right now.

  
The reporter carefully lifts the armor over her head. "Ditto. At least we won't look out of place in Goodneighbor." She says, removing her shirt.

  
Snake notices that Cait and that man who was yelling at her are caught in a screaming match, but she can't find the energy to care right now. Piper upends her bag, grabbing her stimpak and preparing to administer it immediately. "You ready, Blue?"

  
"Ready for a shower, maybe."

  
"Aren't we all?" Piper injects the stimpak, feeling dirtier than she's ever been in her life. "I'm gonna clean the wound, okay? No sense in using the stimpak if it's just gonna get infected."

  
Snake raises her hand to stop the reporter from spilling the contents of her canteen onto her wound. "You should drink that. It's the only non radiated water you have on you."

  
Piper snorts, gently putting the vault dweller's hand down. "Please, Blue. The only thing I drink is nuka cola and it's many sugary variations." Despite the grime on her hand, it's hard for her to let go of it. She can't help but stroke her thumb over the veins on the back of her hand. "I... wanted to thank you for doing that earlier. It was really brave and sweet of you."

  
Snake hopes the accumulation of dirt and blood and whatever else she has on her face is enough to hide the color of her cheeks. She lightly squeezes the reporter's hand in her's. "You're welcome, Piper. How could I just stand there and watch? Besides, how do you know I didn't plan it? I have a pretty reporter tending after my wounds now. Maybe that was my plan all along." 

  
Piper narrows her eyes, putting her hand on the vault dweller's forehead.

 

"What are you doing?"

  
"Just checking that you're not saying weird stuff because you're delirious from blood loss." Her temperature seems normal. _She's not delirious_. Piper gulps. "Uh, we worked really well together."

  
"What can I say?" Snake's painful wince as she chuckles doesn't wipe the expression from her face. "I guess red and blue does come in pairs, after all."

  
They really do.

  
They fall quiet as Piper tries to focus on cleaning her wound. Her handkerchief isn't exactly sterile, but it's probably the cleanest thing within a mile of them. She should have probably done this first before injecting the stimpak, but it's too late now. The black and red finally gives way to tan skin after a few wipes.  
Snake still breathes heavily, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. Piper notices a chain around her neck, but whatever is hanging from it is carefully tucked inside her cleavage, hidden under her black sports bra. The sweat clings to her skin, it's downwards descent following the contours of her well defined muscles.

  
The vault dweller tries to tune out the increasingly loud yelling coming from Cait's direction. "I really hope that's not your favorite handkerchief."

  
"It is, why?" The reporter asks, moving to her stomach absentmindedly after clearing the wound from dirt. Her hand spreads out, feeling the rippling tendons under the fabric.

  
"I don't think that's ever going to turn white again, no matter how many times you wash it." Snake apologetically says.

  
"It doesn't really matter to me." Piper smiles, a bit bashfully. "It'll make a good memento."

  
"Is that why you're trying to wash all of me instead of taking a look at my wound like you said you would?" Snake tries to keep herself from laughing, if only because she knows it's going to hurt even more if she does. Her entire stomach is clean now, giving the reporter a very close and personal view of her sculpted abdomen. 

Piper feels her mind stop for a solid three seconds when she realizes what she's doing. "No! Sorry, I was just a bit-"

  
"Distracted?" Snake finishes for her, flashing that ridiculous smirk.

  
The reporter feels her face heat up at the suggestion. "You caught me." She murmurs, too tired to come up with a smarter response. She turns her head in embarrassment, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. 

  
"Don't worry, Piper." Snake chuckles, reaching out to slowly tilt her chin back. It's not often that she gets to see the brash reporter looking like this, so she savors the moment and wonders how the black haired woman's lips stay so glossy and pink in an era where lip gloss definitely isn't in production. She feels bad for touching her face with hands as dirty as hers. _It's like rubbing mud on a masterpiece in a museum_. "Now we're even." 

A radio crashes on the wall beside them, breaking into little pieces. Just like that, the sound of Cait and the man arguing is back full force. The corner of Snake's eye twitches. "Hey! Can't you see we're having a moment here!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. Don't worry, they'll get their moment in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I wanna thank all of you who read this far into the story. The plotline really picks up here and I really hope you'll continue looking forward to updates. This chapter is pretty dialogue heavy and it's basically "approval talk", but I hope you laugh/go "awwww" even if it's just a teeny bit reading this. 
> 
> As usual, let me know if you're still reading and leave a comment below :)

It takes Snake the next hour to talk to Tommy and Cait. It takes even longer to radio Codsworth and to wait for him to come. Piper decides then to start gathering all the valuables and everything else they can use in the doorway to make it easier for the Mr. Handy to carry with his new brahmin from Bunker Hill, conveniently bought with some of the caps they recovered here. It takes an extra hour, but they needed the time to sort out the salvage anyway.

  
"I think I'm going to call you Bessie." Snake pets the brahmin's head affectionately. The animal's back has been loaded full of weapons and armor and a bunch of other things. "Um, this isn't too heavy for you, is it, cutie?"

  
"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Cait leans by the wrecked doorway, her armor fully secured. "This is nothing to them brahmins, and me and the robot butler you've got there's got a mountain strapped to our backs."

  
Right. Piper will never understand how the vault dweller got the cage fighter to cooperate with her.

  
"Oh, Piper, do you mind if I borrow your lighter?" Snake asks her, the vigor in her voice replaced by a tired grumble at this point.

  
"Sure." The reporter tosses it to her.

  
Snake flicks it open and the flame consumes the paper held above it. She tosses it back to her, and both Cait and Tommy's eyes widen in surprise. "There it is. You're a free woman now, Cait. You'll receive fair wages and you don't have to stay in this swill anymore."

  
Oh, so that's how.

  
"Good riddance." Cait breathes in the fresh air, devoid of the stink of the Combat Zone. "I just hope you're not puttin' me in an even bigger garbage heap."

  
"I don't work with raiders, if that's what you're worried about." Snake looks in Codsworth's direction, finding a measure at comfort that he's managing to comfort the freed prisoners. "And I'm sure we'll have a bar open at some point. I've radioed a friend there, Preston, to get a bed ready for you."

  
"How kind of you." The doubt is anything but hidden in the Irish woman's words.

  
"Be safe and remember to stay away from the super mutants." Piper waves them off, her arm feeling like it's going to fall off it's socket. 

  
"So, what's happening now?" The reporter asks, glad they're finally on their way to Goodneighbor. She never thought she'd say that, but at least they have a place to sleep there.

  
"Cait is going to go with Codsworth to Sanctuary. It would be hard for just him to guard those people and the brahmin by himself, and while Cait's kind of risky, it did seem like she's just glad to be out of there." Snake bites her lip. "I just hope this isn't going to bite me in the ass."

Only time will tell. They both know that.

  
The walk to Goodneighbor is fairly quiet. After all of that, the feral ghouls they run into really don't seem like that big of a deal anymore. A shiver climbs up Piper's spine as the cold night air bites into her skin. 

  
"Are you cold?" Snake asks, slowing down to match her speed. "You can wear my jacket, I'm pretty okay."

  
"It's fine, Blue, but thanks." Piper declines politely, pointing at the neon letters. "We're almost there anyway. See the sign?"

  
"Well, that's easy to find." Snake mutters. She sniffs the air, smelling garbage and urine again. "And smell. And here I thought my poor nostrils would get a break."

  
"You know, I was kind of worried about how you'd do in Goodneighbor, but after seeing how well you handled yourself back there, I'm sure you'll do just fine." Piper laughs, elbowing the other woman lightly. "Just... no more bar fights tonight, okay? I think I've had enough for one day."

  
"Trust me, Piper, tonight's more of a 'straight to bed' night for me." Snake says, stretching lazily.

  
"Is that what you say to all the girls?" The reporter grunts as she pulls the door open. It gives after a short struggle, making it clear that no one's oiled it for a good while.

  
Snake follows her inside, noting the state the former Scollay Square area of Boston has fallen into. Garbage, drugs, and alcohol. What a sad end to such a neighborhood. "Of course not. I'm a gentlewoman."

  
Despite the darkness, the two women can't miss the bald man in a brown leather jacket by the entrance or the hunting knife strapped to his thigh, mostly because of the smell of cigarette smoke coming from him. "First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without insurance." He smirks, the hand rolled cigarette between his lips as he speaks.

  
Snake's eyes scan the area carefully. "I assume you're talking to us."

  
"Of course, genius, see anyone else walking around here?" He blows the smoke their way with a hint of annoyance.

  
Well, it's three in the morning, so no. Everyone here is probably passed out. "Be careful who you're talking too, buddy." Pipper smiles a bit too sweetly, amused.

  
"You don't gotta answer my question." The man lets the cigarette fall from his mouth, stepping on it. "You're obviously new here. Let me rephrase that for you: give me your caps now."

  
Snake looks at Piper. Piper looks at her back. Dogmeat yawns. And then the vault dweller starts laughing. "You have no idea how many of you I just killed on the way here, bud. Get out of our faces."

  
The man's lips turn into a sneer at her words. In a flash, his knife is within his grasp and his blade arcs into her face. Snake ducks and unsheathes her own knife as she rotates, piercing it through his wrist and pinning him to the wall.

  
"Sorry, my brawl quota's all out for the day." Snake's smile is only interrupted by the grimace forcing it's way to her face. That's not the best move to use when one has a knife wound to the side. She takes her knife out, not minding his painful cry and immediately walking away.

  
"Are you done showing off for today?" Piper asks, once they're far enough.

  
"Only if you're not watching anymore." The vault dweller gives her a tired smile. She can feel the blood seeping through her shirt.

  
The sight of Hotel Rexford's neon signs work some magical effect on them. They start to feel the ache of their muscles and the heaviness of their bones settle in like the buzz of a strong drink after dinner. The two aren't sure if they've been dragging their feet all this time or if they only started when they entered the doors but they're past caring about that.

  
"Give me your best room." Snake tells the woman who's manning the desk.

  
"And two buckets of water to clean ourselves with." Piper quickly adds.

  
The woman eyes them from head to toe, wrinkling her nose. "Payment up front."

  
Their room is, quite frankly, terrible. It's cold, the wallpapers are peeling off the walls, and the sound of very fake moaning is coming very loudly from the next room. The unmistakable musk of dust hangs in the air, barely masking the scent of jet and spilled booze.

  
"I don't think the blankets are supposed to be this color." Piper points out.

  
"I don't think they're supposed to smell like that, either." Snake sniffs it and very quickly takes it off the bed, throwing it in the corner of the room. The room is quiet for a bit, only the sound of their neighbor's moaning and gasping filling the uncomfortable silence.

  
While the room has been swept and the sheets look fairly okay, it takes much too long for them both to notice that there's only one singular bed in this room.

  
"I'm so fucking sorry." The vault dweller immediately blurts. "I'm such an idiot."

  
"It's fine, Blue. It's Goodneighbor, the only hotel here's bound to be... um... one of those hotels." Piper says, unable to figure out another way to phrase it.

  
Snake stares at her. "You're telling me that we got a room in a love hotel."

  
"A what?" Piper asks, evidently confused.

  
"You know, one of those hotels where people stay to have sex?" Snake's voice gets higher towards the end of her sentence as she starts to feel smaller and smaller despite being the taller one out of the two.

  
"Uh, Blue..." Piper coughs awkwardly, caught unaware by that answer. "By 'one of those hotels', I meant one of those really gross ones with moldy walls and carpets... I don't mind sharing a bed with you."

  
"Oh." Snake nervously runs her fingers through her tied up hair, realizing the hole she just dug for herself. The embarrassment drips from her already fake sounding laugh. "Uh, I should get some sleep. Or clean myself. Yeah, I should clean myself first before I go to sleep. Because I'm not gross. Sorry."

  
"Hey, it's okay." Piper's smile is admittedly a bit too charged for someone so drained. Who knew this was all it took to turn her into a stammering mess? "Y'know, if you're feeling a bit... frisky... they probably sell one of those old dirty magazines at the general store. We've got this room until tomorrow afternoon, so you can just let me know if you need to, uh, take care of things. We all get thoughts like those sometimes, right?"

  
Unwilling to just stand there and take it, Snake wrangles the deer-in-the-headlights face she's making and shuts it down. "You mean like you this afternoon?"

  
"I mean like you the other morning." Piper counters, crossing her arms sassily. "So you're a boob girl, huh?"

  
Snake is taken aback by that. Her witty answer dies in the back of her throat.

  
Satisfied by the lack of response, Piper marches to the bathroom triumphantly. "You don't mind if I use the bathroom first, do you?"

  
"Go for it." Snake says, glad to have her off her ass about this. Once the reporter closes the door, the vault dweller walks to the edge of the bed and dives face first into it. By doing this, she discovers that the bed is quite hard and her face hurts. _Perfect_. She puts the pillow under her face and screams for a solid five seconds. 

Dogmeat jumps up, sniffing the back of her head to make sure she's okay.

  
"Smooth. Real smooth." She sarcastically says, although her voice is muffled by the lumpy pillow. She gives Dogmeat's head a ruffle. "What am I gonna, do, boy?"

  
The dog obviously doesn't reply. He just gives her face an enthusiastic lick.

  
"Are you really suggesting that I should-" Snake smacks her own face with her palm. "I need to get my head out of the gutter."

  
Piper walks out of the bathroom in the middle of drying her hair with a towel. She's thankfully wearing clothes, although her coat and hat is on her arm. "Are you okay? I thought I heard screaming."

  
"I just stubbed my toe." Snake tries to peer behind her into the bathroom. "Say, there's no shower in there, isn't there? I could use a cold one."

  
"A shower in Goodneighbor? Fat chance. Diamond City's the only place here that has that much water." The reporter looks horrified, shivering at the last part of her sentence. "And a cold shower in this temperature? Gosh, Blue, that's hardcore."

  
Snake sighs in disappointment. A shower isn't an option, then. "It was worth hoping."

  
The vault dweller rinses her skin with the cold water provided. It takes quite a while for her to get everything out of her skin, with the hand towel she was using turning a gnarly color by the time she's done. Nora would be so unhappy at her condition if she were still here. She always did fuss over every little injury she got, even if it was just from a simple cooking knife. That woman would have killed Snake if she saw what the brunette was up to today. Snake looks into the stained mirror, cleaning the last of the dirt from her face. Finally, it's clear enough for her to see the multitude of scars she's acquired over the years. She touches the mirror, pointing out the one she got from that knife fight on her second to last deployment. Her late wife was so horrified when she saw it, but her look of terror morphed into tears of joy when she proposed then and there in front of everyone.

  
Her eyes dart down to her bare chest, where her dog tags stick to her skin. It feels colder than the water still on her body, and the two wedding bands on the same chain that are literally resting against her heart feels even less a part of her than it did yesterday.

  
She's had a lot of time to mourn her wife's death. In fact, that's all she did for the first few days when she woke up. It's so hard to believe she's dead when she looks just like she's sleeping in that ice coffin, at least until she opens it and sees the gaping hole in her chest. Sleeping Beauty wasn't ever going to wake up again. She stared and stared for so long before she was able to move.

  
And here she is now in some seedy hotel, about to share a bed with a gorgeous woman who's been on her mind ever since she met her. It's terrifying how well she's processing this, dead wife and all. A few seconds pass before she lifts the chain over her head, putting it into her bag. Maybe it is time to let go. Besides, it wouldn't be good for Piper to see the name on the tags while she sleeps.

  
"You okay there, Blue?" Piper's voice comes from the other side of the door.

  
"Yeah, just trying to clean my wound."

  
"If you let me take a look at it, I can bandage it too."

  
"I'll be out in a sec." She hurriedly pats herself dry, putting her bra on.

  
Piper already has her medical supplies ready and laid out on the bed when Snake gets back out. "Generally, people avoid fights when they're injured. Not you, huh?"    
  
The vault dweller puts her bag down, wincing as she does so. She takes a seat on the bed. "I have a big mouth, as you can probably tell already." 

  
"Trust me, compared to mine, yours isn't that big." The reporter looks at the angry red cut, raw from the friction from her clothes.

  
Snake is content to watch her work for a few quiet seconds. "I wanted to apologize earlier for bringing you into all that. I have no idea what I was thinking."

  
"What's with all this apologizing?" Piper looks up at her with her warm hazel green eyes. "We got enough caps for your settlers to get armor, you have a new questionable mercenary, and I have enough money to replace the press. We shut down a raider bar that had a bunch of nasty things going on inside and rescued the people held there."

  
"You... you're not scared or upset?" Snake surprises herself when her statement comes out as a question. "You sound almost happy."

  
"Of course I was scared, but no one gets anywhere running away from what scares them." Piper looks at her like she's grown another head. "I got to do the right thing and I got enough caps to get my sister a new school bag. That's a perfect day for me. I mean, I know a lot of people think it's weird but that's just how I am." She smiles as she dabs on her wound and continues working. "I just couldn't stand and do nothing. Neutral men are the devil's allies."

  
Snake chuckles. _How right that is_. "You are such a breath of fresh air, Piper Wright."

  
Piper blushes. A smile creeps onto her face as she finishes. "Did the people back in the vault not agree with how you do things?"

  
"I guess you can say that." Nora really didn't. "They wanted me to stand and watch because at least I would be safer. It was because they cared, sure, but I couldn't... I couldn't live with myself because of it."

  
The reporter puts her supplies back in her bag. Although she was sleepy before, curiosity gets the better of her. "Is that why you left?"

  
"It wasn't because of that." Snake feels her chest getting heavier with each time she swerves from telling the entire story. A heavy frown tugs at the corners of her lips. "But honestly, I always felt like they were starting to hate me because of it. It was just a matter of time before..." She sighs. _Before she divorced me._

  
Piper puts her hand on her shoulder, and it brings more comfort than the reporter will ever know. "Hey, it's okay. You're here now. Come here."

  
To Snake's utter surprise, Piper throws her leg over hers and pulls her into a hug. Her shirt smells faintly of cigarette smoke, a scent she's never thought of as comforting until now. She can hear her heartbeat as the younger woman cradles her head in her hand, calm and steady.

  
"I guess that's why you're here with me now, right? Because you don't have to hide that side of you anymore, not from me." Piper swallows and pauses before she resumes her words. Her heartbeat starts to quicken. "I mean, I actually think it's really cool. Those guys down in the vault just have no idea what they're talking about."

  
_Was it a mistake to marry her?_ Alarmingly, she's starting to think so. She really doesn't mind that Piper is basically sitting on her lap in what has to be the most risque position she could have chosen. She doesn't let go of her, instead snuggling even closer if such a thing is possible. "That's the first time someone's ever said that seriously to me." She chuckles into her chest. The black haired woman shivers as her warm breath bounces off her skin. "I think you're pretty bad ass too, Piper."

  
God, Snake just can't tame her beating heart. "Y'know, I used to wonder if I left that vault in time. Going into this new world where everything's fucking crazy and trying to kill you, I was thinking that I came out during the worst time." She might be delirious from tiredness now, but the words just keep coming. If she counted right, she's been awake for twenty hours, and most of that was spent in that godforsaken Combat Zone. "I know we haven't known each other for long, but meeting you has really made me feel like I was meant to be here in the first place."

  
"That's... really... sweet of you." Piper absentmindedly plays with the strands of brown hair, twirling it around her finger. Even after cleaning up, the vault dweller still smells of fresh, earthy rain and gun oil. She tells herself she'll jot it down later for purely professional reasons but she knows she's kidding herself. There is nothing professional about this.

  
"This is a really ugly ass world. Fucking ugly flies, fucking ugly bears and fucking ugly burning radioactive garbage dumps everywhere. It really brings out the worst in people." Snake looks up at her and their breaths intermingle. She dares to reach her hand out, stroking the reporter's cheek freely now that she has no blood on her hand. "But shit, you are so beautiful it more than makes up for everything. I have no idea how you could have lived in this place and still be your best every day."

  
"That's because I believe in people. You said it, this place brings out the worst in people, but it really brings the best out of some. Even if it's one in a thousand, it only takes one match to light up the darkness." Piper hesitantly puts her hand on the vault dweller's chest, her hand feeling the curve of her collarbones. "I didn't come up with that. Um, my mom was the one who told me that before she died, but I think you're the fire in this analogy."

  
"You're wrong." Snake cranes her neck up as far as she can go, trying to close the distance between their lips. She's so close she can smell the scent of bubblegum on the reporter's breath. "You are."

  
"Blue."

  
"What?"

  
"Your eyes. I've been wondering for the longest time if they're green or blue." Piper picks up her handkerchief, dabbing on the vault dweller's cheek. She can see them clearly in the light now. They look just like what the reporter has always imagined the sea would look like from the beach, in the days before the war. "They suit you."

  
"Just like how I'm a suitable chair for you, hm?"

  
They certainly are in quite the compromising position, but Piper has no intentions of moving. "You're practically a heater, Blue." Her voice trails off as the fatigue finally starts to claim her consciousness. Her legs honestly ache so much she doesn't know if she can even move. "Let me just..."

  
"You can stay for as long as you'd like." Snake exhales tiredly, the last of her energy leaving her body with her breath.

  
That's the last thing she remembers before she starts to drift in and out of consciousness. After the third time jolting awake, she's about to ask the woman on top of her if she wants to lie down, only to hear the gentle, slow breathing of a restful sleep. With a yawn, Snake lifts Piper up with her aching arms, carefully laying her down on the uncomfortable mattress. At the loss of contact, the reporter immediately huddles up to her again, longing for warmth. She nestles her head at the crook of the vault dweller's neck, sighing satisfactorily. Snake presses a short kiss to her forehead, the brush of her lips lingering for only a brief moment before she wraps an arm around her waist and closes her eyes. 

Sleep takes her quickly, but not before something makes itself clear to her. _I'm falling so hard for you._

 

* * *

 

The sunlight is filtered into the room by the stained glass of the window, illuminating the dust particles swirling in the air. Dogmeat yawns and sneezes before rolling onto his back and continuing his slumber. Piper wakes up to a hand caught in the tresses of her hair, it's thumb stroking the back of her head. It's all fine except she doesn't sleep with anyone, not since Nat got too big to fit on her bed together with her.

  
"Piper..." A mumble.

  
Her attention falls onto the sleeping woman beside her. Snake is still in her bra, and the bandage has fortunately stayed on overnight. The Diamond City reporter sighs in relief. It's just her, and she looks so peaceful when she's sleeping.

  
_Is she dreaming about me?_ Her face is so close that Piper can see every detail of it, from the sharp turn of her nose to the variety of marks left by old wounds. Still groggy from sleep, she touches the face as lightly as she can as to not wake her up. The burn mark on the right side of her face looks rough, but the tightened patch of skin feels surprisingly soft and smooth under her fingers.

  
"Compliments to my doctor for that." Snake mumbles, and Piper removes her hand as if she just touched hot embers. "The nerve damage was pretty bad so I can't really feel very well there, but at least he made me look recognizable again."

  
"Morning, Blue." Out of interest, she decides to ask. "Did you have a good dream?"

  
"I did, actually." Snake sighs, making no effort to get up whatsoever. "Makes me want to stay in here even more."

  
"Tell me about it." Piper says, cheekily.

  
Snake grins mischievously, propping herself up on her elbow. "You really want to know?"

  
She doesn't get the chance to answer. Three loud bangs on the door interrupt their conversation. "It's thirty minutes to noon, be out of here in thirty unless you want to pay for late check out!" Comes the voice of the woman on the desk from last night. "Dirty the sheets, we'll bill you accordingly!"

  
"Jesus, it's almost noon already?" Snake isn't too happy at her having to get up. She rolls onto her stomach, stretching her back lazily before sitting up and doing the same with her arms, hoping to get the stiffness out of her shoulders.

  
Piper gulps and feels her mouth go dry at the display of her flexed back, her gaze intensifying as they fall on the broad shoulders and the swell of her biceps. "Yeah, this is such a rip off. We must've had this room for no more than nine hours."

  
"And now we're headed for another bar." Snake pulls her shirt on, getting her belt and looping it around her hips.

  
"Good, 'cause I'm parched and I could really use a nuka cola right now."

  
No more than a few minutes pass before the two are on their way. The halls of Hotel Rexford are dim even at this hour. The lights are either dying or flickering on and off. It's starting to give Piper a headache, and it's probably doing the same to the ghoul at the end of the hallway. He's dressed in a ragged tan coat and a matching hat. The ends of his clothes are singed and faded, a testament to the dangers of the Commonwealth. He massages his temples tiredly, a perpetual frown on his face.

  
However, the expression shifts to one of utter befuddlement and shock when his eyes land on Snake. "You!" He points his finger at her. "It's you!"

  
"Sorry, I got no time for auto-" Snake's eyes are wide open. "Holy shit."

  
"How the hell are you alive!?" He approaches them cautiously, as if he's facing a phantom.

  
"I ask myself the same thing every day." The vault dweller mutters, grabbing Piper's hand and pulling her away. "Anyway, gotta go!"

  
"Wait a minute!" He goes after them, about to put his hand on her shoulder. He stops just before he touches her, but he doesn't stop following them. "Two hundred years. You're not a ghoul. I'm so confused."

  
"You've got the wrong person, buddy. Need a new pair of glasses?" Snake walks faster.

  
_Two hundred years?_ Piper would have dismissed this guy as just some random dude on a wild drug trip in Goodneighbor, but the look of terror on Snake's face convinces her otherwise. "Blue, who is this guy?"

  
"No way, I know who you are!" He continues after them. "It's me, the salesman from Vault-Tec. You're that big war hero, you were all over the papers! Your name's-"

  
"Shhhhh!" Snake turns around in a flash and covers his mouth with her hand. Her nostrils are flaring in panic. "Dude, you're so high right now. I'm a figment of your imagination. No, I'm a vampire. Begone! I command you!"

  
"What are you doing?" Piper frowns, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. "Blue, what is this?"

  
At the end of the hallway, a familiar face greets them. It's the man from last night who tried to mug them. A dirty strip of cloth covers his bleeding wrist. He points in their direction, face contorted in anger. "There she is!"

  
A bullet flies into the side of his head. From behind him, a group of men in suits spread out into the hallway, pointing their guns straight at them. Their leader is dressed in a striped black vest and slacks. He tips his fedora as he smokes an expensive looking cigar. "Miss Wright." He tips his hat courteously. "It's a shame that we'll have to put you down."

  
"Oh, shit." The former Vault-Tec employee bites his tongue.

  
This is one long hallway, one with no cover aside from that one table with a vase on it. They'll get obliterated if they just stand here. Snake eyes the door not two feet away from her. "Who are these guys, Piper?" She asks, even if it's just to buy time.

  
"I really have no idea, Blue." The reporter's mind is racing a mile a minute. "Uh, I know of a couple people who really don't like me."

  
Their conversation in Diamond City comes back to her. Mayor McDonough or the Institute?

  
"What a letdown it is to kill a beautiful woman." He shakes his head, though his smile reflects no sorrow at all.

  
Snake steps forward, hyper aware of the guns trained on her. "You look like a man who's killed plenty of beautiful women."

  
"Stay where you are." He doesn't fall for her bait. He shakes his head as if he has it all figured out. "You yourself look like a woman who's familiar with death. How many people have you killed, hm? Tens? Hundreds? I bet you like it up close and personal too."

  
"As the beautiful lady knows, yes I do."

  
"I can see that." He raises a fascinated eyebrow. "The best room in Hotel Rexford? I hope you had fun while it lasted."

  
An uncharacteristically perverted smile creeps onto Snake's face. "Oh, it was really fun. Too bad you'll never experience it."

  
Piper glares at the back of her head. _What the hell is this?_

  
"Too bad indeed."

  
"Unless you let me and my dog go." There's the catch. She just needs to reel him in. "You can have fun with her and kill her when you're done. I know when I'm outmatched. I'd like to live another day." She looks back at the ghoul coldly. "You can kill him too. I don't even know this guy."

  
"Blue, how could you!?" Piper clenches her fists.

  
"Smart woman." He snickers and turns to one of his associates. "All but one of you, escort her out, please. I have personal business with Ms. Wright."

  
"Nice doing business with you." Snake nods, satisfied with his answer. "Maybe we'll meet again in the future."

  
Snake walks past him, his henchmen trailing her back as she makes her way out. He doesn't even give her a second glance. Piper curses under her breath. Their guns are already on her, there's no way she can draw hers before having holes blown into her first. "So, was it Mayor McDonough or the Institute?" She wryly asks. "I'm just curious."

  
"Oh, Piper. You know so much, yet so little."

  
A whizzing sound is followed by the sound of gunfire. The sharp dressed man looks behind him, both he and the man beside him momentarily taking his eyes off of them. Piper takes this chance to shoot at the lock of the door beside her, throwing her shoulder into the wood and barging in. She grabs the ghoul and pushes him inside ahead of her, ducking as the sound of bullets ring out again.

  
"The bathroom!" Piper barks at him, keeping her gun trained on the door.

  
A plethora of gunfire and swears create a racket in the hallway, but her attention is fixed on the peek of a fedora coming around the corner. Time feels like it's slown down to a crawl. A lone eye peeks out and she fires, hoping that her instincts haven't failed her. He tries to scout the situation just as the bullet leaves her barrel, and the only thing he sees is lead and then nothingness.

  
"My eye! You bitch!" He rises up, smearing blood onto the walls after he clutches at his face. Before he can raise his sub machine gun again, she puts a few more bullets into his chest.

  
Piper doesn't get the chance to relax. A body comes flying into the room, landing with an inelegant thump. The well dressed gentleman's mouth is caked with blood and the fedora falls from his head to reveal his formerly neatly coiffed hair.

  
"Who sent you?" Snake walks into the room calmly despite the splatter of blood on her cheek. Her gun is pointed at his forehead.

  
He chuckles and spits out a bloody tooth that bounces a fair distance on the floor. "Heh. A killer indeed, you are. Be careful, this kind of attitude is only going to get you killed."

  
She shoots at his foot and he grunts in pain. "I'm not a patient woman. I asked you a question."

  
The ghoul peeks out from the bathroom doorway with a whimper.

  
"You'll never get an answer from me."

  
She shoots the other foot. He doesn't even make a sound as his remaining foot is rendered useless. "Answer me now."

  
He looks up at her smugly. His eyes then fall onto Piper's. They're unnaturally calm for a man looking death in the face. Then, he looks back up to the vault dweller and opens his mouth. The voice that comes out is different. It's no longer the smooth tone of a businessman, but an emotionless robotic one that marks the disappearance of every emotion from his face. "Initiating self destruct sequence in three-"

  
The bullet puts an end to him before he can finish that sentence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hook, line and sinker for Snake. Now she just has to get Piper to catch up. Next chapter is going to have a lot of revelations that our favorite reporter has been chasing. Wonder what she'll find out...


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things are happening in this chapter. I decided to not go into too much detail in the action parts because that would probably make this like 2x longer and too clunky, so here you go. Lots of dialogue for everyone. I had to do a lot of reading on the alternate history of the Fallout world just to make sure I got everything right. 
> 
> As usual, let me know in the comments if you're still reading because your words give me life!

The mercenary, MacCready, happily pats his pocket. It jingles with caps. The ghoul from the hotel looks a bit more relieved at the sharpshooter's presence, but his eyes still dart around nervously.

  
"You really don't know who she is, don't you?" He stammers and shakes his head in disbelief, all to MacCready's bored eyeroll. "How many people do you know can pull off what she just did?"

  
"You have to go now." Piper urges him, actually pulling his arm to get him to the door. "I'm serious."

  
"February 2077. You have to look it up." He tells her, before their newest mercenary yanks him out.

  
"Great, my new job is to escort some weirdo." MacCready mumbles and sighs, preparing himself for a very long walk. He shushes the ghoul as they leave Goodneighbor, and their voices cease from there.

  
A pile of looted guns are spread out across the counter of Kill or Be Killed. Piper puts two handfuls of caps next to it for good measure. "That's what I got for the rest of the stuff from Daisy."

  
"MacCready and Vault Tec guy's already gone?" Snake asks her hurriedly.

  
"Yep, I gave them the location for Sanctuary." Piper can't seem to take her eyes off the pile. "Uh, what are you trading all this stuff for?"

  
"I like that look in your eyes, killer." Kleo rolls the 'r' on her last word. The assaultron comes into the room with a rifle slung around her neck, a handful of frag grenades in one hand, and an automatic 10mm in the other. "Tell me, hun, is this good enough for you?"

  
"Holy shit." Piper whistles. The lack of rust and pipe on the weapons definitely tells her that this is no cheap weaponry.

  
Snake inspects the rifle, testing the grip and checking the slides. "This will do. Piper, what do you think about that gun?"

  
Piper has never really invested in anything but her trusty pistol. It's small and reliable and it doesn't cost that much to maintain it, which is good because most of her caps goes towards putting food on the table for her sister. "Wow, Blue. You really know what a girl likes."

  
This would be fun if it didn't finalize the demise of their hope for a peaceful day.

  
"We have to go now." Snake doesn't bother asking for change, immediately pocketing the grenades and taking her hand.

  
"Stick close to buildings and cover, right? I know the drill." Just as she opens the exit door, she hears the echoing footsteps of what has to be half a dozen men coming their way.

  
The resulting skirmish takes place over a few blocks, where they alternate between shooting behind them and dodging bullets behind defunct bus stops. Piper lobs a grenade over the skeleton of a car, her legs taking her as far as she can in the opposite direction. To her and Snake's absolute disdain, gunfire comes from their right, forcing them to hunker down behind the remains of an old store.

  
"Shit, I lost count of how many of them we've put down." Snake curses, quickly reloading her gun.

  
"You're not running out of gas, are you?" Piper fires her gun around the corner, taking one down.

  
"No, but we are running out of ammo." She wryly deadpans. "They're probably going around the block to flank us right now, we have to lose them somewhere."

  
And they'll have to rely on Piper's knowledge of the area to do that. "What a delightful group of fans I have." She fires a few more rounds, fending off the men from running over to where they are.

  
Snake roughly grabs her shoulder and yanks her into the store just in time to avoid the bullets embedding itself into the walls. "Okay, they're already starting to flank us. We need an escape plan now."

  
Piper takes a deep breath. "I have a plan but you are going to hate me for this because it might also get us killed."

  
"I love it already." She smirks, turning her face when a bullet chips a part of the wall next to her.

  
"Uh, just remember to be super, super quiet when we get inside."

  
"Inside where?" Snake asks, but Piper has already charged off. Putting her faith on her, she follows her into the light once more. Constantly looking behind her to engage in suppressing fire doesn't leave much room for navigating. She nearly trips over rubble more than once shooting and trying to stop the men from coming at them from three different directions.

  
A shadow falls over her and they reach a tall, large building. Snake follows Piper inside, grabbing a broom by the door and placing it across the door handle to keep them from going inside. Piper yanks Snake into a closet, leaving the door open an extra second for Dogmeat. Snake opens her mouth to compliment her for the strategic choice, only to have her mouth covered by the reporter's hand. The Diamond City resident puts her pointer finger on her lips.

  
The door rattles for a second before it's smashed in. "Huh? What was that?" A deep rumble of a voice comes from somewhere above them. Even from inside the there, they can hear the growl present in every labored breath from the owner of said voice. The ground shakes with every step the owner takes down the stairs. Snake's eyes widen even though the palm on her mouth stops her from saying anything.

  
"Holy shit!" Gunfire erupts. Dogmeat's tail swishes widely from side to side, and the two hope he doesn't knock anything over lest they blow their cover.

  
"Puny humans!" The voice rises to a loud bellow. There's the sound of something being crushed and a body dropping, but the gunfire persists. It only stops a second or two later.

  
Heavy breathing is all that they can hear. "Those two wandered into a fucking super mutant nest. They're probably dead right now."

  
"Yeah, but McDonough isn't paying unless we bring proof she's dead. I say we go onward."

  
There are too many questions here. If McDonough hired these thugs, why did he happen to hire a synth too? A synth who was really adamant on hiding his employers. _Unless..._ Piper grins in triumph. She was right all along about him. Mayor McDonough is an Institute synth. There can't be any other possibility.

  
"Are you out of your mind? Who knows how many of them are in here. The job's done, I'm leaving."

  
A third voice joins the conversation. "Yeah, well those two crazy chicks killed a lot of us back there. I vote we finish the job and get the larger share for the rest of us."

  
"There's around ten of us still left, dipshit."

  
"There were over thirty before before they got blown to pieces. I don't know how stupid you are, but that means we get over twice the amount of caps if we split it now."

  
It takes a bit more of back and forth arguing before they decide to move in. After a few seconds of silence, Piper removes her hand from Snake's mouth. "Where are we?" The vault dweller asks.

  
"The Boston library. I heard from that one shopkeeper in Goodneighbor that it's infested with super mutants."

  
"So you lured them in here so they can kill each other-"

  
"-And we finish the job. Those guys were real mercs, not a bunch of newbies, so I think they're really going to give the super mutants a challenge." Piper ends her sentence for her with a winning smile. Just in time, the sound of turrets firing and yelling begins and accompanies the sound of one hell of a large scale battle going on upstairs.

  
"And now we need to only to wait until one side gets slaughtered. I'm putting my money on the lean green fighting machines to win this one." Snake whispers. "At least now I have a rifle that can hopefully get through their skin."

  
Piper nods uncomfortably. "Uh, can you move your rifle? You're kind of poking me in a really uncomfortable place here."

  
"Sorry." Snake apologizes. It takes her a great deal of maneuvering to put it to the side without elbowing anything in the closet and making a racket.

  
"Thanks." She breathes, thankful for the lack of metal prodding her in the thigh. She lifts up the shiny new gun they procured from Goodneighbor, admiring the handiwork done on it.

  
"I'll oil it some more when we get the chance." Snake thoughtfully says. "Is it working fine, though?"

  
"It's working really great." Piper smiles thankfully. "I'm impressed, Blue. How'd you know I'd like this?"

  
Snake grins, satisfied at the feedback. "Get to know someone and you'll know how they fight, the weapons they choose, what they'll do under duress. It's a bit unorthodox, but I always believed the best way to figure someone out is to be in a fight with them. Doesn't matter if you're on the same side or not."

  
_"How many people do you know can pull off what she just did?"_ The ghoul's words from earlier repeat itself to her. "What have you figured out about me, then?"

  
The sound of fighting is still ongoing. Snake doesn't need long to come up with an answer. "You're a reporter, not a soldier. That means you like something small and light because a big weapon would make you look too threatening and that's not the image you want people to see. You're trustworthy and it's important for people to see that. You use a pistol because you always take the peaceful way out and you don't think you need a weapon capable of killing ten people in seconds. You don't like shooting your way into or out of situations because you don't like ending lives, even though the shenanigans often caught in forces you to do just that at times."

  
That answer stuns her for a brief moment. "That's surprisingly insightful ,Blue. Bravo."

  
"But there's more." Snake smirks, and suddenly the reporter is all too aware of how they're pressed chest-to-chest, so close she can feel the other woman breathing in and out. "Your weapon is well maintained. You know you have to defend you and what's yours and you know how to do it well. You rely on your way with words and intelligence instead of brute strength to win, which works out well for you because you have a good eye, sharp mind, and a sharper tongue."

  
Everything she said is true. Piper looks down at the rifle by the vault dweller's side. There's a lot she can deduce just from the pages of information she's pieced together over their travels, but the puzzle pieces don't all fit in together. "I'm impressed. If I asked anyone else, their answer would be 'crazy loud lunatic with a death wish'."

  
"Don't forget 'a killer sense of style'." Snake smirks, then looks at the door. "The noise has stopped. We should start doing our sweep. This place is bound to have a lot of salvage. Fingers crossed we find a stash of caps instead of a dirty magazine locked away this time."

  
_And information._ Piper is relieved that Snake has already stepped out of the closet before she has to come up with an answer to that obvious flirtation. Besides, if she can figure out that much about her choice in weaponry just by observing her, how much else has she found out?

  
Snake's prediction was right. Bodies of the mercenaries are scattered all over the floors and halls of the library. Smoke billows in the air as sparks die from the remains of the turrets. Piper has never been too good with rifles. While she's far from a couch potato, those are usually heavy and clunky and she just can't stand having one slung around her for the entire day. Snake brandishes hers like it's a weightless extension of her arm. 

  
The vault dweller raises her hand to signal to stop when she hears more heavy breathing. She steps into the nonfiction section and lets loose, firing a burst of ammo and dropping the super mutant before he notices she's there. She leaps to the side and kicks the bookshelf, toppling it over just in time to trap a mutated hound under it before it can jump out at them. She switches out of burst mode, firing one round into it's eye. It stops moving, but she puts another one in there as a precaution.

  
They do one full circle around the premises before Snake is satisfied. "I think we're clear now. I'll radio Codsworth to send in the salvage team. Uh, they'll probably need to get another brahmin or two."

  
"Sure. Do you mind if I look around? I've never been in this place before."

  
"Of course not. Just holler at me if you need anything. I'll go look around to see if they've got any food lying around."

  
Piper wrinkles her nose. "Okay. Just, uh, don't cook any of the random meat the super mutants had lying around."

"Of course I won't." Snake chuckles. "I didn't plan on dying via food poisoning."

  
The reporter walks quickly, scanning the aisles for what she came here to look for. Looking back, she sees Snake's tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she tries to pick open a locked door. She hurries until she gets to the rows and rows of lockers in the very back of the large room.

  
February 2077. She skims over the labels quickly until she finds the right one. She shoves a mangled body aside to reach the locker. She rejoices as she pulls it out to see that while the newspaper clippings inside are yellowed and faded, they're still intact. Looking through them is like looking into a window to some alternate idyllic world. She skims through articles of new car models that came out, ads for homes with white picket fences, scandals of celebrities who probably died in a giant atomic blaze two hundred years ago. She smiles at the little comic strips at the end of some of the pages, but that smile disappears into thin air when she skips to the next page.

  
The article covers the entirety of the first page of the newspaper. _Alaska Liberated_. The headline isn't what Piper's attention falls to, but the picture that covers half of the page. A group of soldiers covered in blood and grime staring into the camera, calm in in a sea of carnage and destruction. In the very middle is a face half covered in bloody bandages, yet her head is held high. The face is that of the woman she woke up with this morning. There's no mistaking those intense eyes that look just like they're staring right into her or the confidence in her posture. She'd recognize her anywhere. Her sleeves are rolled up, revealing a tattoo of a serpent on her forearm.

  
_What. The. Fuck._ She blinks a few times to make sure she's not seeing things.

  
The spot where her name should be has faded too much to be readable, but it's what comes after that interests Piper. _The decorated U.S Marine was awarded a Medal of Honor as thanks for her acts of valor in which she single handedly secured a base of roughly fifty hostiles, disabling the nuclear bombs that were set to explode-_

  
Piper hurriedly shoves the entire newspaper into her bag as she hears Dogmeat's panting and gets up. She turns the corner to greet her companion.

  
"I found some pork 'n beans in that office. A hot plate too. I hope you're hungry because I'm positively starving." Snake cradles the cans in her arms, licking her lips.

  
"Oh, hey." Piper greets a bit too quickly. If eternal longevity is one of the vault dweller's powers, an irrational part of her hopes that X-ray vision into her bag isn't.

  
Snake's smile fades somewhat. "Are you okay, Piper? You look like you've seen a ghost."

  
_Am I?_ "I guess I'm just being a bit jumpy." She answers, letting out a deep breath after holding it for so long. The living mystery in front of her has ears so good she couldn't risk being heard.

  
"With everything that's happened in the past few days, I can't blame you." Snake sympathetically smiles. "Hey, why don't we take a break and have lunch?"

  
"That sounds great." Her words coincide with her stomach grumbling.

  
Piper's mind can't stop racing. Snake hums to the tune of Pistol Packin' Mama as she stirs the pot of pork n' beans. Try as hard as she might to read her mind, but the vault dweller just looks like she'd like a sprinkle of pepper to season their food with. Two hundred years and she doesn't even look thirty years old. How the reporter would love to pick her mind and get that scoop of the century she's been chasing.

  
"I radioed and asked Preston to tell MacCready his next job is to ask around all his contacts to see if there's still a wanted poster up for you." Snake puts the ladle away, leaving the food to heat up. "So... the Mayor McDonough or the Institute thing just got a whole lot more complicated, huh?"

  
"Not really, this all just points to my theory that Mayor McDonough is an Institute spy." Piper casually says. "And thanks, that's definitely going to make me sleep better. Don't you need him for your settlement, though?"

  
"Yeah, but I also need him to make sure all the mercs in the Commonwealth aren't-" Snake falls into silence, contemplating what she just heard. Her mouth closes and opens and her eyes narrow in deep thought. "Holy shit, you are absolutely right. Mayor McDonough is a synth because we know he hired those men to kill you, and one of them was a synth who blew himself up to refuse giving up his employer's name. Uh, they can't really do that if they're not an Institute synth, right?"

  
Piper bites her lip, mining her brain for information. "I don't think so, but I'm not really a synth expert, Blue." She should also note down that Snake is definitely not a synth, then, or else she would be lying in a ditch right now. One possibility crossed out, and still even more to investigate.

  
"What are you gonna do when you get back to Diamond City?" Snake sips her canteen, surprising the other woman with her sudden change of topic.

  
"First of all, shower. Then I'll go to Myrna's and try to get the parts for my printer, then smack myself in the head with a wrench trying to make it work. Or ask Nick if he can help me out." Piper rubs her hands in anticipation of having a working printer again. "Then I'll write a really satisfying article about how the Combat Zone, hub of a bunch of nasty activities, was shut down by a righteous avenger."

  
"Just one?" Snake gets the ladle and scoops the contents of the pot into their cans.

  
Piper receives the can and a spoon from her. "I'm good at reporting things, Blue. Being a hero? Not so much. Can't handle all the eyes on me." Though she's sure the woman sitting right across from her is used to that.

  
"That's funny." Snake swallows her first bite of canned food, which is oddly starting to taste good after all her time here. "I think you're better at it than I am."

  
There's the elephant in the room. Piper thinks back to the article sitting in her bag. It said that the woman in front of her stopped the nuclear bombs from detonating, but the obvious thing is that they clearly did or else they wouldn't be living in this dump of a planet right now.

  
When they get back to Diamond City, Piper lifts Nat up and spins her around, although not as long as she did when the girl was younger. She's getting bigger every time she sees her, it feels like. Snake shows her the pipe pistol she got, and the younger Wright jumps in excitement. The vault dweller takes her out to the market, offers to buy her something. Piper waves at them before she runs knocking to Nick's office.

  
"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Comes the synth's exasperated voice as he opens the door. "Piper. Good to see that you're still in one piece."

  
She lets herself in when Nick steps aside to make space, taking a deep breath. "You knew about this."

  
Nick stares blankly, shutting the door. "You'll have to elaborate, Piper. I know a lot of things."

  
"Our mutual friend, the one who's taking my sister to the market right now, you know about her."

  
"That's not being very specific, my old friend. What do you think that I know?" Nick sits on the swivel chair he loves so much, making a very straight face.

  
"That's why you let us go to the Combat Zone alone. You'd normally go 'No, Piper, I'll come with you, it's too dangerous'." She says, in a surprisingly good imitation of his voice while making a series of grandiose hand gestures. She reaches into her bag, takes out the article and dramatically slams it on his desk because she's not Piper Wright if she doesn't break the news in the most extravagant way possible. "You knew who she was. She told you."

  
Nick looks at papers in front of him, taking his time eyeing the words printed on the old piece before making eye contact with her again. He doesn't seem the least bit shocked. "I'm surprised that you actually went to the Boston library to get this, Piper. It's the only place where you'd find this and it's infested with super mutants."

  
Piper sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I need to know who she is, Nick, really. I need to know why she wants to find the Institute, why the most dangerous woman I've ever met is so damn nice, I want to know everything about her."

  
The synth refrains from commenting, instead taking a few seconds to come up with an appropriate response to that. He pretends not to notice how 'need' suddenly turned to 'want' back there.

  
"You're making that face, Nick." Piper frowns, crossing her arms.

  
"What face?" He asks innocently.

  
"Your 'I just heard something really stupid or interesting but I'm trying to not react' face."

  
Nick simply sighs and shakes his head, twirling his pen with his fingers. It takes him a few seconds to say what's on his mind. "I don't know how to tell you this, but it looks like you want more than an interview."

  
"What are you talking-" Piper's heart stops when she sees what he's getting at. Her words dissipate on the edge of her tongue as she thinks back on her words. "It... kinda does seem that way, doesn't it?"

  
Nick gets up from his chair, walking over to put his robotic hand on her shoulder. "How old are you turning this year, Piper? Twenty four? You've been scrambling around chasing scoops and providing for your sister since you were sixteen. Hell, we only met around six years ago and you were already a force to be reckoned with."

  
"What are you saying, Nick?"

  
"You live in Diamond City, for God's sake, but you've never really had anything for yourself, haven't you?" His words aren't rude, but simply another observation like the hundreds he makes every day. Her lack of an answer confirms his theory. "It's always the paper and Nat for you. Now you want something for yourself and you don't know how handle it so you're taking the longest way possible because you're scared to find out what happens if you take the leap."

  
Piper recalls how the very woman they're talking about made a scarily accurate reading of her just today. Doubt creeps into her psyche. "Am I really that easy to read?"

  
"Hell, no." Nick almost snorts at the ridiculous suggestion. "But I have been a detective for a long time and I have known you since you were eighteen. If that weren't the case, all I'd see is smoke and mirrors just like everyone else."

  
"Smoke and mirrors are the bread and butter of our line of work." Piper beams, taking that as a compliment.

  
"Right you are, Piper." Nick can't help but hide his smile. "Now, don't start coming here for advice about women, mind you. The agency's sign might be misleading, but I'm not a matchmaker. I'll tell you this, though, life in this world is short and unpredictable. You should take your chances when they come."

  
Piper hurriedly snatches the article back. The door flies open and Nat runs inside with a partially eaten sweet roll in her hand, Snake following close behind. "Hey, Piper. Mind if I stop by your office later?"

  
"Of course not." The reporter doesn't realize the overenthusiasm in her answer until after her words exit her mouth. "Do you wanna help me build the new printer, Nat?"

  
"Sure!"

  
"I'll see you two later, then." She takes her sister's hand and bids her goodbye.

  
The door closes and Snake immediately states her business. "Any news about Kellogg?"

  
"Not yet, unfortunately." He strokes his chin. "I've been chasing down my leads, but we talked about this." 

  
"Has she, uh, said anything about me?" The veteran lets herself have a seat on the lumpy chair. 

  
Nick resists the urge to sigh at her inquiry. _Doesn't anyone talk directly these days?_ "She mentioned that you haven't brought her into the loop in your investigation, and I have to say that it's probably in your best interest to do that. She is one impressive investigator, and it takes a lot for me to say that about someone. As I said the first time we sat down and talked, we're not finding Kellogg without her."

  
Snake sighs, knowing this is how it was always going to go down. "Nick, if this Institute is involved, then you know that I think going against them is going to be a one way trip for me. I'm not standing by and doing nothing again and no one is going to change my mind."

  
"Piper isn't going to try and change your mind." He tells her the obvious.

  
"I can't take her life away from her, Nick. I can't take her away from her sister either." Snake argues, although the tinge of bitterness can be heard in her voice.

  
"You can't take Piper away from anything. I don't think anyone can." He says this with no small amount of admiration for the young woman. "There is nothing you can make her do that she doesn't want to."

  
"And you don't think she's going to try and stop me from fighting this Institute, even if..." Snake holds her breath. "Even if I don't get to walk out of it?"

  
"You know what I think?" Nick lights a cigarette, sensing her impatience as he takes a drag and prolongs his answer. "She won't stop you, but she'll drag you out alive after you're done with them."

  
Silence permeates the air like a heavy fog. Nick continues tending to his smoke as he observes the internal conflict being fought in his new friend's mind. He can see her trying to find new ideas on finding the grizzled mercenary, each one falling apart at the seams until she comes back to the one path she knows she has to take.

  
"I can't put her in even more danger." Comes her last weak excuse. "It's why soldiers and law enforcement types like us can't make friends with civilians."

  
The smoke drifts into the air, filling the air with the heavy scent of tobacco. "Piper isn't a soldier or a cop, but she's no civilian. She's-"

  
"Extraordinary. I know." Snake breathes. "I just... I just hope I'm not a making a mistake doing this, because I don't think I can live with myself otherwise."

  
Nick takes a drag off his cigarette. That's not what he was going to finish his point with, but that works too. "Now go, we have a son to rescue."

  
"You're right." Snake squares her shoulders and stands up. "But first, there's something I have to do."

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's here for a Piper and Nick bromance? I sure am. It's always been a huge headcanon for me that those two are probably really good friends. And don't worry, you guys are SO close to reaching that gay shit.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this took my sweet time to write. I've been scrambling around the last few days because I've been busy trying to move and I had to get someone to watch my cats, plus my roommate's dog escaped and I had to run around to look for him and got lost in my pajamas. 
> 
> Lovely. Anyway, this chapter should be called "How NOT To Interview Someone". As always, leave a comment if you're still reading! Don't worry, it just gets gayer.

Three fucking days. Snake has disappeared off the face of Diamond City for three fucking days after telling her she'd drop by right after talking with Nick. None of the guards have seen anything, not that they're too keen on telling Piper anything these days. She can hear Nat outside yelling about her new article and her favorite handkerchief lies neatly folded on her desk, the initials P.W neatly embroidered on the corner. It's the last thing her mother gave to her before she died and now it's permanently covered in blood. The grime managed to wash out eventually, but even hours of scrubbing won't get all the red out.

  
Piper has found herself stroking it absentmindedly over the last few days. It began when she was writing her new article and started to wonder where Snake had gone and lo and behold, a new habit was born. It's quite alarming even to herself that it's something she's taken to doing every time the veteran is on her mind and it's escalating from a daily activity to one she keeps on doing every time she's left idle.

  
_What are you up to?_

  
Miles away, the subject of her wandering mind is sweating under the hot sun. Her arms and shoulders ache more than they have in years and her face and clothes are filthy with soil and dirt, but she looks proudly at her work. She throws the shovel beside her, taking a long gulp of water from her canteen.

  
The twelve holes are all six feet deep and six feet tall. It wasn't easy digging all this, the ground is dry and hard but it was about damn time she did this. She pets Dogmeat with her dirty hand. "Let's go clean ourselves up, boy. We can't show up like this to a funeral."

  
The walk down the hill wakes a plethora of memories for her. When the grounds were lush with dewy grass, she and Nora had their first picnic here to celebrate getting their house. The ants swarmed the blueberry pies they brought, but it was fine. They just went back to the store and got cheesecake instead. She walks past a withered tree where she rescued Mrs. Callahan's orange tabby cat when the woman's poor eyesight prevented her from being able to distinguish the pet from the orange leaves falling from the tree. There's the empty patch of land where she planned to take Shaun to play ball one day, a wish that never came true.

  
The next time she sets foot back into the vault, there's not a speck of dirt on her body. She marches past the skeletons to a room with rows and rows of lockers, having to wipe them to see the numbers under the dust. She sees her number and opens it with her combination.

  
Off goes her ratty and ill fitting shirt from that dead settler she found on the way to Concord. It's joined by the mismatched pants that are way too long for her legs and the belt attached to it that's barely holding itself together, let alone her weapon and her canteen. The jacket soon follows. It was torn and two sizes too big anyway. The last thing that comes off is her beat up boots that always made her feel like she was walking on gravel.

  
She pulls out her trusty old messenger bag from the locker, tucking in her old navy blue uniform from her limited days on the Emergency Response Team after her retirement. At least now she'll have something to switch into when she's waiting for her other set of clothes to dry. Those elbow and knee pads are sure to be useful, anyway. The fingerless combat gloves still fit her like they did during the rainy jungle skirmishes and she expects it will be very practical if she gets into any more fist fights. She pulls on her old tactical pants, glad to have the weight of her duty belt back. The kevlar fits just right over her black cotton shirt. It feels good to have her army green jacket on again.

  
The rifle she pulls out of the locker will need some maintenance, but she has enough caps now to make sure it starts working very well after a visit to Arturo.

  
Codsworth is waiting for her when she gets back to the surface. "Mum... you're in your old clothes. You look rather dashing in that, I might say."

  
"Thanks, Codsworth." Snake gives him a weak smile, blowing away a stray strand of hair that falls onto her face. "I sure missed being in it."

  
"Oh, the fit the Mrs. would have if she were here now." He realizes his words too late and quickly changes the subject. "Uh, anyway, it looks like it's time for you to get a trim. Perhaps it's a good idea to visit the barber when you're in town next?"

  
"Codsworth, it's okay. I know I'm starting to look like a bum." Snake raises her hand and runs her fingers through her messy hair. "I've had a lot of time to mourn her. I just... it's just time to move forward. It's not right to let them stay in there forever." Saying the words to someone else makes it sound a lot more final.

  
"I'm very proud of you for doing this, Miss Snake." He pauses, unsure of how to say this. "Um, would it be helpful if I could help you bring them out here?"

  
"No, it's okay. I'll bring them out myself." She answers without hesitation.

  
Even Dogmeat seems to understand the cue to stay back. He follows her until the platform, where he whines softly as she goes down. When she comes back up, it's with the body of DiPietro in her arms. He taught her how to garden properly, something Nora was very happy for when they harvested their first batch of strawberries.

  
The next one to come is Cindy, who gave them a warm batch of ginger cookies when they first moved here. Then it's Mr. and Mrs. Whitfield. Although frozen in time, their skin carries the sickly blue hue that's characteristic of death by asphyxiation, a color that deepens around their lips and fingertips. She's placed carefully next to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Cofran. They all had dinner together just a week before the bombs fell. Mrs. Whitfield made her famous apple pie and they were so overjoyed by Shaun's birth.

  
How things have changed.

  
When Snake comes out again, this time with Mr. and Mrs. Callahan, Codsworth can see her arms start to shake. He suspects it's out of weariness at first, until he sees her eyes grow glassier with each body she puts into the ground. She looks at each and every one of their faces, knowing it will be the last chance she'll ever have to do so. If Codsworth could hold his breath when she brings out the Ables, he would. The next person she brings out is Mr. Russell, who she's never liked that much because of that time he backed up into her car, but such an issue seems so far away now.

  
Snake carries Nora bridal style into her grave, not unlike how she carried her into their new home. She had just painted the fences for her and made sure the bouquet of flowers is set just the way she knew her to love. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you everything you wanted." She puts a hand on the gaping hole in her dead wife's chest. Her skin is cold to the touch, a clear testament of how far she's gone through the jaws of death. "Sorry we never went on that cruise because I was always busy working, I'm sorry about that couples' cooking class you signed us up for that I couldn't come to."

  
She knows she's not listening, but to hell with it, because she'll never forgive herself if she doesn't say these words now. "I'm so fucking sorry for promising you that I could stop being a soldier to be your wife, because it's not true. I really didn't mean to lie to you, I just... couldn't choose between the only thing I loved to do and you. We both know I didn't join law enforcement after we retired for the money, it was because I knew I had to do something and staying home and botching my fifth attempt at making meatloaf wasn't it."

  
Snake begins to fidget with the rings on her palm, taking a deep breath. "But most of all, I'm sorry because I'm not yours in the end. We both knew my heart was with being a soldier and that we were coming to an end." She takes the icy hand, enclosing the gold rings between them and resting them on her heart to cover the ghastly hole left by the bullet that took her life. "You're an amazing woman, Nora, and these will always belong to you. I wasn't a good wife to you, but I'll make one last promise to you." She stands, clenching her fists. The rings' weight are physically insignificant to that of everything else on her body, but her first time standing without them in so long feels like the weight of the world has been taken off her shoulders. "I will get our son back."

  
The shovel is waiting for her to get to work. She straightens her back and looks at the twelve graves, steeling her gaze and giving them a nod before lifting the tool and finishing what she set out to start.

  
It's not until just before sundown that the last hole is filled evenly. Thankfully, the clouds begin to settle over them in the middle of the task, the first drop of light rain only starting to fall by the time they pat the mounds of soil flat.

  
A heavy breath leaves her chest at the sight of her handiwork, and she finally lets a single tear roll down from the corner of her eye. "It's done."

  
Preston can scarcely believe his eyes when he sees them coming down. "Damn, that's some serious gear you've got on. Where'd you get it?"

  
"A treasure chest from days long past." Snake gives him one of her signature vague answers. "Anyway, I've got news for you."

  
The Minuteman goes into full alert at her words, expecting the worst. "What is it?"

  
"You know how I said I couldn't lead the minutemen?" Snake sees the hope flare in his eyes, strong enough that she can see it under the shadow of his hat. "I changed my mind. There's going to be a massive influx of new settlers soon. I'm thinking that we have enough caps and materials to handle them, right?" She doesn't give him an explanation for her decision.

  
"We've got more than enough, the search and retrieve teams you've been sending have been coming back with boatloads of valuable things we can use." Comes his enthusiastic response. "Damn, I saw you take those raiders and that deathclaw down. I'm really glad you're on our side. Times like these, we need a leader who knows how to be on the front lines. We'll need to get that large scale water purifier before we can handle more people, though."

  
"I'm on it." Snake yawns, feeling her eyes water from sheer tiredness. "I'm gonna head to bed. I'm having an early start tomorrow."

  
Preston chuckles, nodding as the woman walks past him. "Sure thing, general."

 

* * *

 

"Hey. It's John, right?"

  
The resident Diamond City barber looks at her as he combs back his immaculate pompadour. "Hey, I remember you. Lady who shot that gun out of Kyle's hand, right?"

  
"That's me." Snake chuckles. "I'm surprised that you remember."

  
He whistles as he sees her new clothes. "Jesus, lady, I guessed that you'd have success as a mercenary after that but I didn't think it would happen this fast. Looking to get the merc special? Hair to make you look as dangerous as you are?"

  
"Something like that." She skeptically crosses her arms. "I hope you're not going to give me a raider mohawk or something just as bad."

  
"No, no." John laughs, leaning in way too close for her liking. He inspects her from multiple angles, the scent of hair gel strong on him. "You look like a woman with simple tastes, but simple doesn't have to mean plain. Trust me, I didn't get a spot in Diamond City for being bad at my job."

  
"Can you please make me not look like a wet dog really fast because I'm supposed to be seeing someone." She desperately pleads. She's four days late. "And she will be super unhappy if she sees me just chilling and getting my hair done instead."

  
"Make yourself at home." He grandly bows and gestures to the chair, and she zooms onto it faster than what should be humanly possible.

  
Snake takes a deep breath. She can do this, she can give Piper that god damn interview and ask her for information about Kellogg in return. That's not what she'd call a fair trade but she's willing to do just about anything to get some dirt on the mercenary. She's too busy thinking about what to say to notice the snipping scissors, and suddenly the shaver is on her head. She makes a face.

  
Maybe she should have told him upright that she was just looking for a trim.

  
Piper notices her immediately when she steps out of the office to head for lunch, but it takes her a bit too long to process it. Snake looks into the mirror John is holding for her, immediately giving him a few more caps from her pocket as a tip. The barber can tell she's happy by the amount of time she spends staring into the small mirror and he can't help but crack a proud smile.

  
Snake thanks him profusely before heading off into the Publick's direction, pausing in between her steps when she sees Piper standing there. "Oh. Hi." She's close to smacking herself in the face for not wording her greeting better. "Uh, I'm really sorry for running off the other day but I swear I have something to make it up for you."

  
The reporter's not even paying that much attention to her apology. It was hard to admire the vault dweller's physique in the old scavenged clothes, but now it's an entirely different story. With the jacket folded under her arm, her aptly sized shirt makes a great job of accentuating her broad, squared shoulders and the curve of her waist. The swagger in her walk is that much more noticeable, perhaps because of the duty belt that requires her to swing her arms wider to avoid bumping it, but something tells Piper that's not it and something else has changed.

  
Piper should probably respond with annoyance or intrigue or anything, but her mouth goes numb. "Damn, Blue. You look..." _Hot._ "Really good."

  
"Thanks." Snake grins and runs her fingers through what's left of her hair. John simply shaved the sides and back of her hair, leaving enough of the rest for her to pull into a ponytail that allows a few strands to escape her tie and frame her face nicely. It may have been a haircut that would've caused Nora to wonder if she joined a gang two hundred years ago, but it looks strangely fitting for a wastelander. There's no messy tufts to hide the scars on her face anymore, and there's something proud in that. "We can't all go days stomping around in dirt and still look amazing like you can, so I thought I'd finally bite the bullet and stop looking like I don't have a mirror. At least now washing my hair will be less of a pain, with the lack of water and everything."

  
Piper can see the people swerving around them to avoid walking into them. They're clearly blocking the way, but she just can't move yet because it would mean she'd have to take her eyes off the woman in front of her. "It would be a real shame if you didn't have one. You should look at yourself, where did you get this?"

  
"We should talk in your office." Snake knows her next words will change things but she knows it'll have to happen one way or the other. "I'm ready to give you that interview. I'm all yours."

  
"Oh, what?" Piper can't believe her ears. Her smile is cranked up to a thousand megawatts. "Just let me get my notepad ready. Come on in and make yourself comfortable." This is it, she thinks to herself as she opens the door back inside. To hell with that lunch, here's her scoop of the century.

  
Snake sits down on the couch, turning to face the reporter. "I wanted you to be the first one I broke the news to. The minutemen are back and I'm their new leader. Surprisingly, this is the least crazy thing I'm going to say today, but we're accepting settlers. We have a need for builders and farmers, primarily."

  
"Were you hoping for me to put out an ad for you?" Piper is pleasantly surprised, but so much has happened already that even then it doesn't faze her much. She didn't even know Snake was with the minutemen. "Don't worry, I won't charge. Where is the base of the minutemen located?"

  
"It's good to know that my newfound dashing good looks aided me in charming you into this, then. It's located in Sanctuary Hills. We're going to start expanding once commerce is established."

  
She readies her trusty pen, finally beginning the interview she's been waiting for. "What vault are you from? What was it like in there?"

  
Snake licks her dry lips, knowing this is where it gets interesting. "Vault 111. It's really close to Sanctuary. It's a cryo vault-"

  
"Cryo... cryo!" Piper repeats the word to herself, finally finding that missing piece of the puzzle. "Now everything makes perfect sense!"

  
"It does?" Snake scratches the side of her head, puzzled by that reaction. "Jesus, I'm starting to feel really stupid."

  
"I know who you are, Blue." She tells her, putting her notepad down. She averts her eyes, looking down in regret. "When you didn't come back and disappeared, I thought Nick told you that I found out and I was so worried you wouldn't come back."

  
"I'm... I'm really sorry about that, Piper. He didn't tell me anything. That was completely my fault, there was just something important that I needed to do and I'd been putting it off forever." Snake kicks herself mentally for that blunder. _Important things like burying my dead wife._ "I knew you'd figure out who I was eventually."

  
"You're not mad?" Piper asks disbelievingly.

  
Snake shakes her head. "Not at all. I just have no idea how you managed to figure it out. I really liked to think that I was hiding it well, especially since I've fooled everyone so far."

  
"Your face the first time you grilled a radroach was pretty telling." She chuckles, opening her bag and pulling something out. She flips the newspaper article around and slides it over. "This is how I found out. I got it from the library."

  
Snake sees the woman in the picture staring right at her. She smiles nostalgically. "Alaska, huh? I was freezing my tits off in this picture. They took it when I wasn't ready, that's why I look so upset and edgy here."

  
"Well, the real thing looks a lot better for sure." Piper teases, before getting back to the topic at hand. She coughs after realizing what a terrible job at interviewing she's doing and picks up her notepad again. "Anyway, um, we'll talk about that picture later. How does a vault dweller turn into the leader of the minutemen?"

  
"When I first got out of the vault, I ran into Preston Garvey, the last active minuteman. It's a long story but I hopped into a power armor and killed like twenty raiders and a deathclaw and helped him and his group get to Sanctuary because I knew there was shelter there. I started helping them out with this and that from there."

  
It takes Piper a bit to write all that down. "And you did this out of the goodness of your heart?"

  
"To be frank, yes." Snake crosses her legs. Her eyes seem to glow with purpose. "Why wouldn't I want to help them? They're a group of people looking for a home where they don't have to drink irradiated water and eat half rotten meat just to stay alive. The world might have turned to shit because of a bunch of idiots from two hundred years ago, but life should still be more than hiding and starving and never knowing anything else." She lowers her voice. "I didn't think I could help them do it at first."

  
"That's... really inspiring, Blue. What drove you to lead the minutemen? And could you elaborate on that last part?"

  
"Because... because I know there are still good people in this world and that's reason enough to make it better for them." She hesitates to add this last part. "People like you."

  
Piper blushes at the unexpected addition to her answer, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

  
Snake's face tenses at the second half of the question but she's determined to see this interview through. Piper deserves that, at least. "I made a promise to someone a lot of years ago. I promised her that I wouldn't put myself into danger ever again so I could grow old with her in a big family house with a rose garden up front."

  
"It must have been hard for you. I wouldn't be able to keep that promise." Piper feels her chest tighten. "Who was it, Blue?"

  
_Here comes nothing._ "My wife. She died along with everyone from Vault 111."

  
Piper's hand freezes. There are so many questions for her to ask but the pen drops out of her hand in shock. She cringes at what she just said and then again when she remembers what she said in that hotel room. "God, I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot, I didn't-"

  
"Piper, it's okay." Snake is surprised by how calm she feels, how she doesn't feel her chest being pulverized at the thought of her anymore. "I want you to know. You already found out that I served. I retired because my then-girlfriend begged me not to go back into danger because I came back from every tour with more holes in my body. She was going to break up with me if I didn't stop, said she couldn't bear seeing me all bloodied up all the time."

  
"I... I don't know what to say."

  
"I retired and proposed to her at my medal ceremony. I... I've never said this to anyone, but now that I think of how much I love doing this, how much more I could've done..." Snake sighs tiredly. She couldn't say this in front of Codsworth, and definitely not over the graves. "I think it was a mistake."

  
There's a sense of finality in that sentence. Piper wants to ask her why she's telling her all this, but wonders if she should because she wants to know so much more.

  
"I know what I want now." Snake moves to face her directly.

  
Piper's heart begins to thump wildly at the implications of those words. "And what's that?" Her question comes out as a stammer.

  
"Is this part of the interview, Miss Reporter?" She coyly smiles, the corner of her lip quirking into a salacious smirk.

  
"About that interview," She thickly swallows, the nervousness giving her a shiver that she can feel all the way down to her spine. "I don't think I'm going to publish it, after all. I'll tell everyone the minutemen are back, but I'm not going to expose you to everyone."

  
That stops Snake right in her tracks. "Wait, what?"

  
"You know what I've always wanted?" Piper quickly asks her, unsure if she even has the courage to do this.

  
The veteran briefly considers asking if it's a working camera or a swimming pool full of nuka cola, but resigns that idea when she hears the tremble in her voice. "No, I don't know."

  
"Me neither." She immediately blurts. "And you know what? It's ridiculous because I'm twenty four and I don't think I've ever had a single thing for myself ever since my parents died. I'm either taking care of Nat or doing odd jobs to feed her or doing something that's almost always a good way to get myself killed." Piper continues onto her point. She's reached the state where she's rambling so fast it requires every inch of the vault dweller's attention to follow. Accompanying this is the extravagant hand gestures she's prone to make during her speeches. "I never got to worry about pocket money or binge drinking every weekend or dating, I had no time. The next time I checked, here I am almost ten years later and I don't even know enough about myself to know what the hell I'm doing here."

  
Snake finally finds a gap to say something when the reporter stops to catch her breath. "Have you figured out what it is yet?"

  
"No and that scares me because I never run away from anything." She counts all the near-death experiences she's had in the past. "There's that time I was almost human sacrificed by the Children of Atom, then that time a radroach jumped out of my toilet while I was using it, then the time a yao guai caught me peeing behind a bush." She realizes how she's making absolutely no sense. Her voice drops a pitch as she tries to gesture at the space between them. "But this is way scarier than all of those situations combined."

  
"What do you mean, Piper?" Snake asks her, but she knows exactly what she's talking about.

  
"I wanted that interview with you so badly, Blue, and I kept telling myself it's because you're the 'scoop of the century' or whatever bullshit I was feeding myself, but that's only partially true." Piper begins to tell her, not knowing what her hands are doing as she speaks. Her voice starts to shake even more as she realizes she's so close to saying what she's been trying to say. "I don't know when, but on the way, I started wanting it because _I_   wanted to know about you. I didn't go into a super mutant infested library for a headline, I just... really want to know everything there is about you." She coughs awkwardly when she realizes how that sounds, but the growing smile on Snake's face only encourages her to go further. "I want to know what your favorite food is, how you like your coffee in the morning, what you think of when there's nothing to think about, and it has nothing to do with publishing a story."

  
"You'll get your answer, then." Snake tells her and raises a hand to stroke her cheek. She's smiling so widely it hurts. "Tacos topped with fish and so much tabasco sauce it'll make a deathclaw get running shits. I like my coffee dark with a tablespoon of hazelnut milk, no sugar. And the thing I think about when there's nothing to think about? Well, that's you."

  
Piper holds the hand caressing her face like a treasure, finding that her palm is starting to sweat. "What am I supposed to do with this, Blue?"

  
"C'mon, Piper. You don't need me or anyone to tell you what to do." Snake waits for her to make the move, respectfully keeping her distance the way it was before. "I'll be right with you every step of the way, whatever your decision is."

  
And there's her cue. The shivers extend to her skin and she pushes past the threshold that's been holding her back. Her clammy hands close over the fabric of Snake's shirt and pulls her closer to her. When their lips finally meet, she gives into the vault dweller's arms with a blissful sigh. They fall back into the couch, their bodies melding together perfectly. Well, almost. The vault dweller suddenly regrets putting on that kevlar because she can't feel the plush swell of breasts pressed against her torso. Piper tastes of the three cups of coffee she's had today, masked with the distinct tang of cherry gum drops. Clearly, she hasn't smoked today and it's the perfect mixture of bitter and sweet. It's true that Snake has never been one for sugary treats, yet she's sure the taste of her lips can change that for her.

  
The Diamond City reporter tilts up Snake's chin to deepen their kiss, her breathing getting heavier with every caress she feels on the small of her back. Piper had no idea a woman so dangerous could have lips so soft. Their legs tangle together, the friction of their clothed limbs waking a heated and visceral reaction that travels too far south for it to be innocent.

  
A finger comes in front of Snake's mouth, separating them after God knows how long. She opens her eyes and gives Piper a puzzled look.

  
"What's your drink of choice?" Piper whispers to her, forehead still pressed together.

  
"Spiced rum, neat." She strains her neck upwards for a brief peck. "Let me guess, you're a martini girl?"

  
"You guessed right. Do you like old movies?" Piper starts to move down, brushing her lips against the column of her neck as lightly as she can. She feels the woman below her shiver.

  
"Love 'em." Snake leans her head back, feeling her resolve starting to crumble at an alarming rate. "I'm gonna have to see if I can find a working projector somewhere. We can set it up, eat some popcorn..." She smirks, sitting up to make sure Piper is looking at her face. "Say, did they ever get to making that Silver Shroud show?"

  
Piper smacks her in the arm lightly. "You're an ass."

  
She doesn't know how, but Snake flips her over the moment she blinks. The black haired woman is on her back the next time her eyes open, finding that her hat has fallen to the ground beside her. The vault dweller is over her and her face is so close that her pulled back hair tickles her cheek as it falls over her shoulder. "You've asked your questions, don't you think I get a turn?" Her voice drops an octave, sending a shiver down her spine.

  
"I don't think this is how an interview works, but sure." Piper pouts playfully, giving her permission.

  
Snake honest to God giggles and places a soft kiss on her nose. "Can I make you eggs and coffee in the morning when you're groggy and in your pajamas, trying to write your next story?"

  
"Only if I get to wake up with you in this hypothetical scenario." Piper laughs back, grazing the back of her fingers over the freshly shaven back of her head.

  
"Then I'd better learn how to cook pronto." She beams, her face starting to hurt after smiling for so long. "And I think it's time for me to go raid a mirelurk nest."

  
"Blue, I think you know the only way to my heart is a deathclaw egg omelet. Hmm... yummy." Piper locks her legs around the vault dweller's waist, pulling her into another deep kiss. She can't seem to have enough of her. "Besides, do you even know what a mirelurk is?"

  
"Not really." She nuzzles her again, gently removing the green scarf she reporter is so fond of. Her exposed collarbones are revealed through the two top buttons that's left unbuttoned. Her fingers fall upon the buttons as she begins to undo her shirt. Snake licks her lips at the first peek of the round breasts and the scarlet bralette that holds them. "Can you kiss it better the next time I get hurt?"

  
The heady grin that's been on Piper's face for a while drops at that question. "The next time? What are you planning to do?"

  
The little bubble of happiness that's trapped them for the last hour or so pops. Her face darkens. "Piper, I want to be honest with you about something." Snake sighs, realizing that she probably should've mentioned this before she ended up on top of the other woman. Before she started taking her clothes off. What a mood killer.

  
"What is it?" Her breath is still heavy. Her cheeks are still flushed as she lies there, her shirt halfway to being undone. She can see something is wrong when Snake's eyes aren't where they should be. 

  
"I'm hunting a dangerous man. I don't know much about him. I know his name and the gun he uses and what he looks like, but not much else." She holds her breath. "His name is Kellogg."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tfw you cockblocked yourself, Sole. My original plan was to have them do the do right then, but I've got to tease you guys somewhat :)
> 
> This is obviously the chapter where Sole starts looking more like how she looks in the in-game screencaps I posted instead of the Sole Bum.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo.... Hi. Sorry for not uploading this sooner, I just moved and I'm still stuck in no-wifi land but I've been building all my furniture from scratch to keep myself occupied. Have an extra long chapter that's honestly mostly filler because I feel like we're overdue for a little calm moment before we go on another rollercoaster. 
> 
> As usual, let me know in the comments if you're still reading and tell me what you think!

"Kellogg... Kellogg..." Piper's head shifts to full gear as she paces around, ignoring that most of her buttons are undone as she continues to search her brain for any mention of that name. It sounds so familiar. She doesn't let Snake get a word in before she explains. "Of course! Okay, I think I know who you're talking about. It's a name that's been popping up very rarely over the past few years. Whenever he's mentioned, it always has something to do with scary big amounts of caps and a ridiculous body count."

  
"Is he a mercenary?" Snake questions, hoping for some details. "Do you have any idea who his employers could be?"

  
"Someone really rich and really ruthless." Is Piper's immediate answer. "This Kellogg guy is either so well paid that he only has to work sporadically or he's really good at hiding his tracks. It could be that he doesn't leave any of his enemies alive, leaving no one available to tell me anything about him."

  
"Like me." She says flatly.

  
"Not like you." Piper shakes her head, joining her on the couch. She grabs her gloved hand, grasping it tightly. "He's... he's a monster. He kills farmers, settlers, families, and just about everyone. His targets are so random and sporadic, I just have to find a pattern that connects it all."

  
"Piper."

  
"I'll have to comb over my files to get everything about him that might be useful. If it was anyone else, I'd tell them to stay the hell away from him, but you... you might just be his match. No, I'll help you get further than that."

  
"Piper..." Snake says again, feeling herself get ignored a second time.

"I just need some time to gather everything I can. I don't want to accidentally send you into a death trap-"

  
"Piper!" Snake raises her voice just loud enough to burst through the reporter's reverie. When the woman stops talking, she gives her a forlorn look. "Aren't we going to talk about what just happened?"

  
The reporter crosses her arms, unsuccessfully trying to hide her exposed torso. She looks down with a hint of embarrassment. "Yeah, sure we can. Sorry, that was just a big bombshell to drop when we were... uh..." _About to have sex?_

  
"I'm sorry, I was an idiot and I totally should've mentioned the Kellogg thing before." Snake groans, her palm on her face. The veteran readies herself for what she's going to say next, taking a deep breath. "And before I do that again, I'm just going to tell you why I'm after him. I saw him kidnap me and my late wife's baby but I have no idea when he could have done it because I was frozen in cryo."

  
"You have a baby?" Piper's jaw drops at the revelation. "That's why you're so good with children?"

  
"Yeah, when I proposed, Nora immediately wanted to get pregnant and get a house. I wasn't really ready but she insisted on getting pregnant, said her body clock was ticking. She was literally twenty three. In the end, I said yes and I'm really glad that Shaun was born but I kinda..." She huffs, crossing her arms and shying away. "Sorry, I'm just rambling about all my questionable past romantic decisions and that's probably not what you wanted to hear from me. God, I'm just putting so much baggage on the table here with the whole dead wife-"

  
"Hey, it'll be okay." Piper gently strokes her shoulder, calming her down. "I can't imagine how you managed to keep all of that inside for so long."

  
"I'm sorry, this was such a mood killer." Snake grumpily mumbles and looks away in embarrassment. "I just need you to know who I am so I'm not just this giant question mark that's constantly dropping bombshell after bombshell every other day."

  
She giggles, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. "I really appreciate that you told me that before we woke up naked on a bed."

  
"Talk about uncomfortable." She feels her cheeks redden at the touch, turning her head to meet her lips once more. She refuses to let her lips linger too long before her hands start to get the itch to wander again. "Can I take you out for an early dinner or late lunch?"

  
"Where are we going?" Piper leans down to pick her shirt up, her stomach growling. "I was just about to get lunch before I ran into you."

  
That's a good question. Snake doesn't know of any places to eat aside from the obvious places, but Piper's lived here for so long that she's probably used to all of their food by now. "I know a place just outside of here..."

  
The arid rays of the afternoon have already surrendered into the much milder air of the evening. Piper remembers to put on her sweater under her coat after feeling the arctic wind this morning and she's very glad about it because even with it's warmth, she can still feel the chill in the air.

  
"Don't worry about the cold." Snake pats her bulging bag. "I packed a blanket and we'll be building a fire. You'll be toasty in no time."

  
"I sure love a good fire." Piper rubs her hands together, wondering where they could be going. "So if we're going to eat, where's the food?"

  
"I'm gonna hunt the food." She answers simply. Their destination becomes clear as they approach the lake. The water calmly laps against the soil, and the glare from the light of the setting sun makes it look so beautiful it's hard to remember how drinking this water could fry you from the inside out.

  
"I hope you're not going to try and fish." Piper feels herself shiver out of sheer horror. "You do not wanna know what goes in any of the waters around here."

  
"Don't worry, Piper, even I couldn't be as stupid as to poison you on our first date." Snake chuckles. "Or let you freeze to death. Besides, I brought something that'll help you stay warm but you'll have to wait before you get it." She gently puts her bag on the ground and looks around before she lowers her voice. It may just be the hunger causing her to hallucinate but Piper swears that the the vault dweller's eyes seem to grow sharper as she scans her surroundings. "Can you help me build a fire? I'll have the food ready to cook in a bit."

  
Piper crosses her arms and leans to one side. _A date, huh?_ "I may be a city girl, Blue, but don't think I haven't had my share of the wilderness. I can have one ready in a minute."

  
"I'm not underestimating your camping skills, I just happen to know that this place is has a lot of food sources." She puts her eye to the scope of her rifle as she walks off and begins to stalk the area. The noise from her boots completely disappears as she prowls the area like a cougar on the hunt.

  
Piper has a bunch of dry wood and sticks scooped up into her arms already, but she wonders what she meant by that. It doesn't take her long to gather them and arrange them neatly. She takes the liberty of taking the blanket out of the bag and wrapping it around her as she waits for Snake to get to her target: the crows resting on the tree, a whole flock of them. The clever avians are notoriously hard to hunt, but a scope and good aim can go a long way. She stills her breath and aims. A crow caws and it's head turns towards her just as she lets out a burst of ammo before she gets too close to be noticed as a threat, cheering when two birds drop to the ground. She picks the two birds up by their feet, jogging back to their little campsite proudly.

  
"Y'know, I thought it was super weird that a vault dweller had outdoors skills like that." Piper strikes up the conversation just as the other woman begins preparing the birds. She quickly takes the heads off and hangs them upside down to drain them of their blood. "You're doing this like you've done it a lot of times before."

  
"Well, sticking to rations is always safer. Less chance of catching the case of animal-carried diseases that way, but I figured that nothing's food safe certified anymore so it doesn't really make a difference." She inspects the first bird for any diseased meat, declaring it ready to cook when there's no sign of decay.

  
Piper gets her lighter out and sets the pile of wood on fire, her stomach grumbling and her mouth dry. She's so not keen on the time it'll take for their main course to be ready, but a sweet roll magically lands on her lap.

  
"I brought an appetizer for you." Snake comically licks her lips and takes out the first part of her meal, a snack cake. "Five star restaurants may not exist anymore but don't think I'm going to go cheap."

  
The reporter would be thanking her profusely if her mouth wasn't full of the sweet treat. "Tell me, what else is usually included in a five star restaurant's menu?" She asks, mindful not to spray crumbs all over her companion's face.

  
"Well, first they ask you if you want any wine. Then they serve you an appetizer, then comes the main course, and then dessert." She explains, thoughtfully. "I would probably order you a martini, though. Cherry on top and all."

  
"It sounds like heaven to live in the world before the war." She dreamily sighs as she watches the birds roast all too slowly. "What else would you order me?"

  
"It can be heaven if you're born the right person." Snake chuckles, not too concerned with the question. She turns the birds over. "Fresh oysters with some drops of lemon and tabasco to start. Then some shrimp scampi linguine for the main course, and chocolate lava cake to finish. Of course, you're free to have some french vanilla ice cream with your cake."

  
Piper takes a large bite out of her sweet roll, feeling her mouth water. "I have no idea what most of the stuff you just said were but it looks like you put a lot of thought into this, Blue."

  
She shrugs and smiles. "I kind of have. Realistically, I think we'd be in a pub instead. We'd be ordering cheap cocktails and greasy burgers with fries to finish after you finish up with work late at night."

  
"What happens next?" She curiously asks, because she'd want to know what she'd be doing if the world wasn't a giant ball of shit but mostly because she'd like to get some insight on this wonderful world the vault dweller has conjured.

  
"Then we talk and talk for hours and hours until Linda, the bar manager, kicks us out at three in the morning. I'll walk you a couple of blocks to your house." Snake shakes her head immediately. "No, you'd be living in an apartment in the heart of the city. It would have big windows and those old fancy lights along the sidewalk and have red brick walls. You like the place because it lets you keep your eyes on everyone and everything and the school Natalie goes to is only a few blocks away. I walk her to her school sometimes when you feel like sleeping in."

  
"So we live together in this hypothetical scenario?" A faint smirk makes it's way to her face as she finishes the last bite of her tasty snack.

  
Snake clicks her tongue and thinks her question over for a few seconds. "I have my own apartment over in the other side of town where it's just me and Dogmeat but I eventually started renting it out when I was basically staying over with you every night."

  
"Staying over at my place every night huh?" Piper wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. "Now I know what goes on in this fantasy world of yours."

  
"Hey, a girl can dream. You've got to get lost in some thoughts to not go fucking crazy here." Sure enough, the smell of the cooked crows are enough to make both their mouths water at this point. Snake passes Piper a flask and takes out her own before moving to get their main course out of the fire. She breathes out, seeing her breath condense in the chilly night air as she blows on her hot food.

  
"Is that your way of saying that thinking of slithering your way into my bed's how you keep yourself occupied at night?" Piper opens her arm and holds the blanket out. "Come here, Blue. I know that's why you brought only one blanket, you rascal."

  
"You seem to forget that I don't get cold easily, but I won't turn down your offer." She grins and brings over the roasted birds over, nicely cooked and skewered on the sharpened sticks she prepared before.

  
A few seconds into their meal and the two are glad that they picked a spot with a tree right behind them. Piper leans back into the trunk of the tree behind her, relishing in the warm glow of the fire and the taste of her freshly hunted dinner. It's to her delight that an arm gently slips around her shoulders as she rolls her shoulders and snuggles into the warmth of her companion. "You're really spoiling me here." She sighs, resting her head on the taller woman's shoulder. She's never noticed before how their height difference made it a perfect resting spot for her weary head. Piper gets the flask and opens it after realizing how thirsty she's gotten, throwing back it's contents to soothe her dry throat.

  
Snake's eyes pop open. "Piper, you might want to slow down."

  
"Now you're really spoiling me." Even though she's coughing, the taste in her mouth is unmistakable. It's sugary sweet and there's that artificial flavoring she likes so much, but it's not just plain old nuka cola. Moreover, there's the burn of pure un-watered down alcohol that she hasn't tasted in too long. "Is this nuka cherry and real vodka?"

  
"Yep, I marched into the Colonial Taphouse for these." Snake lightly shakes her own flask and takes a drink.

  
"Blue, nuka cherry is my favorite drink ever and now that it's mixed with booze, I'm never gonna be able to drink anything from Dugout Inn again." Piper hums in pleasure as she takes another drink, turning her head to press a kiss to her cheek.

  
Snake blushes and scratches her cheek as she chews on her food. "Well, you don't have to. Once Sanctuary has a bar, the bartender's going to know this is the 'Piper special'."

  
"So... what happens after our fancy dinner at that five star restaurant?" She can't believe over half her dinner is gone. She still feels like she could eat more.   
"I walk you home and I take my sweet time doing it because I just want to stay with you for a bit longer. We're the only ones on the streets at that hour and you won't believe what happens when we reach your doorstep." Her voice softens and Snake lets out a long breath that smells of nuka cola and rum.

  
"What's that?" Piper asks, keeping her eyes on the fire burning in front of them. It's crackling and the orange flames lick at the sky like the tongues of dragons, just like she read about in the few pre-war books that she managed to get her hands on when she was younger.

  
"The first snowfall of the year. You look so happy because the weather is finally fun now instead of just cold and miserable." Snake's eyes are closed as if doing so helps her see it happening clearly in her mind. She chuckles at the image.

  
Piper discards of the remains of her cleanly picked dinner, washing it down with another gulp of her drink. "What do you see?"

  
"Right now?" It crosses her mind for a very brief moment to be witty and say 'nothing' because her eyes are closed, but her mouth seems to have developed a mind of it's own after emptying most of her drink without thinking. "I don't know, you kind of look like an angel in the middle of all that white and I can't help but kiss you in the middle of the falling snow."

  
"You didn't just think of this now, didn't you?" Piper can't bring herself to raise her voice too loud and snap her out of her little daydream.

  
"Not really. I think of you a lot, especially when I'm out here alone." She turns to face her, even if her eyes stay closed. "I'm kind of used to doing this. I liked to tell Shaun these made up bedtime stories I thought up when I was away."

  
"What were those stories of?" She pokes a long stick into the fire, stoking it to keep it from going out.

  
"Us hunting ghostly pirates in the Bahamas, finding UFOs in Alaska, or making treehouses in the Amazon and fighting off evil zombie gorillas." She tells her candidly. "It's easy to come up with these wild stories when I'm trying to take my mind off of freezing my ass solid in five feet of snow or hoping not to get trenchfoot in a rain forest somewhere, peeling leeches bigger than my finger from my buddies' asses."

  
"Tell me about the ones you think up about me."

  
The corner of Snake's lip twitches as she tries to hide her grin. Her hand slowly moves it's way to the reporter's waist from her shoulder, making itself comfortable and snug in it's new position. "Those are a bit more... not kid friendly."

  
Piper's own hand begins playing with the collar of the older woman's shirt, catching the fabric under her finger and lightly dragging it down to show the smallest reveal of her skin. "Now those ones I want to hear..." Her voice lowers into the quietest of husky whispers.

  
"Well, let me tell you about them then." The vault dweller looks down at her, biting the bottom of her lip as she lets her mind roam free. "Picture this. I get that large water purifier up and running and I'll somehow manage to drag a bathtub into my little shack in Sanctuary so I can clean it until it's spotless and run you a nice, hot bath."

  
Piper hasn't had a bath in literal years and the last time was with lukewarm water that made her skin itch like it was falling off. She really thought she was turning into a ghoul. "That sounds too close to heaven, Blue."

  
"That's not all. I'll ask around and see how I can get you into a nice bubble bath instead." Maybe Mama Murphy would know how to make bath oils. "I'll light some candles, pour you a perfect glass of ice cold beer..."

  
"What an almost perfect scenario." Piper sighs.

  
"Almost?"

  
"Picture this." She mirrors the vault dweller's words, smiling coyly as she adds in her own twist. "We're in this bubble bath _together_..."

  
Snake smirks, continuing her line of thought. "I give you a back massage and a cheese platter..."

  
"And we pick up where we left off earlier." Those are her last words before she moves in to kiss her, the buzz of her drink amplifying her bravado.

  
Snake tastes of rum and nuka cola, but the kick Piper tastes from her lips alone tells her that the veteran's drink was mostly rum, and one that's darker than the last power outage in Diamond City. The warm hand tethered to the back of her neck to pull her closer smells of smoke and fire and the other one is scooping her up onto her lap as effortlessly as can be.

  
"Are you a horny drunk?" Snake asks between a heated kiss, her hand on Piper's hip as a plea for her to stay where she is.

  
"Usually a yelling drunk, but I'm not drunk." She explains, ignoring the bite she feels on her knee as she unwittingly kneels on a sharp rock. Her hands shoot straight for her destination, the belt that hangs around the hips of the woman below her. "Although I yell when I'm sober too."

  
Snake watches with no small amount of amusement as Piper tugs uselessly at it, failing to do anything but humor her. She puts a hand on the two that are frantically trying to undo the accessory. "Piper, that's not fast release so you're not going to do anything by pressing it or pulling hard-"

  
"Fuckin' hell, so this is what you ran off to do."

  
A pistol is pointed in the direction of the voice in an instant. The speaker doesn't flinch at all and merely huffs nonchalantly. It may be dark and the embers of the fire might be close to dying out but there's no mistaking that accent and that red mane of hair. "Cait?" Piper quickly removes herself from the other woman and gets up, wiping the dirt from her coat and clearing her throat. "Holy shit, you really need to start wearing a bell or something."

  
"Uh, what are you doing here?" Snake hurriedly follows Piper's footsteps and gets onto her feet. She buries her face in her hands as soon as she asks that question. "You're leading the night squad to loot the remains of that fight between those ferals and raiders that I called in earlier."

  
"Yup. I saw your fire while scouting ahead and I thought I'd check it out, make sure it's not more raiders waitin' to jump us." She looks at the two of them, her lips curling into a satisfied smirk. "But no, it's just the boss going out for a quick fuck by the lake."

  
"That's not it." The veteran very quickly denies. "We were just on a walk and we just stopped to have some dinner."

  
"Where'd you take her, under the bleachers?" The Irish woman quickly retorts and gives Piper a quick look. She nods, giving the veteran a look of approval. "You're right 'bout one thing, though. She is hot when she's not covered in shite like last time."

  
"You were talking about me?" Piper gives her a curious look and raises her eyebrow inquisitively.

  
"I can ex-"

  
"Yeah, we downed a bottle or two on Tuesday and she wouldn't stop talking about you." Cait puts a quick end to that excuse. "Told her to stop bein' a fuckwit and just go lick your-"

  
"Would you look at the time, it's time to put Nat to bed." Snake interrupts her and gives the clock on her pip boy a glance. She grabs Piper's arm and takes a step away but the shorter woman wouldn't follow.

  
"-pussy already before she goes off to that vault across the lake to get us some more water, 'cause I couldn't handle seein' her space out and make those goddamn heart eyes a minute longer." She willfully ignores her to continue her point.

  
"Wait, you're leaving again?" Piper's chest deflates in disappointment even though she knows it's bound to happen sooner or later.

  
Snake glares at Cait for bringing the subject up, quickly giving Piper her most apologetic look. "Only for a bit. I promise you I'll be back in no time."

  
She knows she can't come because she still needs to chase down her leads to find out more about Kellogg. It won't be easy, especially because she can't even risk the man knowing she's looking into him. She sighs dejectedly. "I wish I could come with you. Man, do I have some questions for the people in 81."

  
After their talk today, Snake knows that's not all what her reaction is about. "Hey, I don't have to go until tomorrow..."

  
"God, I think I'm gonna puke." Cait groans, turning the other way. "I'm goin' back, bring me a stiff drink when you next see me."

  
They watch the former cage fighter walk off, her steps so light the branches don't even rustle under her weight. It'll never cease to amaze Piper how a woman so filled out with hard muscle can be so stealthy.

  
"So..." Piper drags the word on as she watches her disappear into the shadows. "You got really sauced with Cait, huh?"

  
"Don't worry, I didn't tell her about your secret pajamas." Snake gathers up the blanket from the ground and kicks some sand onto the dying fire. "She only tossed me a shovel so I could dig graves for my dead wife and like ten of my dead neighbors after she punched me in the stomach and said I needed to square up and do it already."

  
Piper is immediately glad that she didn't get snappy and ask if getting wasted with Cait was the so-called important thing she needed to do while she ditched her for the better part of the week. "She's a lot nicer than she seemed when I met her, then."

  
"Yeah, getting out of the Combat Zone has been really good for her." Snake nods. "I've been teaching her how to play baseball. I'm not a pro at it but I used to play when I was a teenager. I think she likes getting to use that swatter of hers for something else than cracking bones in half." She looks back as she throws the bag over her shoulder, fondly smiling. "C'mon, for the time being, let me walk you home."

  
Their return comes slowly with neither woman in a rush to get back. Piper swears that Snake is slowing the speed of her stride on purpose, although she's still scanning her surroundings carefully. It's a quiet night with only the whirring of the machinery of the city's turrets in the air. The darkness does nothing to conceal the ruin and the rubble they pass as they walk back.

 

"I'm sorry."

  
Snake looks at her, blinking in surprise. "What for?"

  
"I'm sorry that you ended up here." She clarifies. "The way you described how the Commonwealth used to be... living in it now must be hell. That cryo vault you came from must've planned to thaw all of you out when the world's not like this anymore and there's just no way this can compare to how it was before."

  
The veteran hears her out and enigmatically chuckles after she does. "I used to be sorry about that too. Honestly, though, I still have hope for this world." She looks down at her, flashing a smile that makes Piper go weak in the knees. "It has good company."

  
"That can't be all that keeps you going, you smooth talker." She giggles when the lights of Diamond City start to light their way back.

  
"Don't laugh at me, I'm serious." She insists, although it's with a laugh. "You know you've done a lot of good for this city, why is it so hard for you to believe that you've done the same for me?"

  
Piper thinks her answer over as they enter the gates. Why, indeed? "Because you're some big pre-war hero and I'm just me?" She wonders out loud. "I'm just one person trying to expose the bad guys so they can't get away with all the things they do. I'm not a hero."

  
They're at the Publick's doorstep before they know it. Snake takes Piper's hand before the reporter can open her door in a silent request to face her. When she does, the Diamond City resident notices how even with the light, her eyes seem to grow a tinge darker. "I'm just a soldier, Piper. Just because my face made it to the front page of an article doesn't make me any less human." She guides the hand to her face, slowly letting it trace the scars they bear. "If I were invincible, would I have these? I'm human, same as you."

  
"You'll have to be damn near invincible to go after this guy, Blue." She says it like it is, allowing her thumb to trace the shape of her face like a book she's desperately trying to memorize before it's yellowed pages wither away to dust. 

  
"Or have you at my back, that's pretty close." Snake says with confidence, slowly raising her finger below the black haired woman's chin to tilt it up. "For now, can I kiss you goodnight?"

  
Piper raises her eyebrow in amusement. "Where are you going? I thought you were staying with me."

  
She gives her a sly look. "I am, I just want to get the chance to do this."

  
"Go for it." She tells her, before getting on her tips of her toes to reach her lips.

  
It will never cease to amaze Piper how she never feels small in Snake's arms. Despite the bulk added to the veteran's frame thanks to her vest, there's no uncomfortable scratching on her torso from her desperately trying to create friction between their bodies. There's no force behind her kiss, but a soft embrace of her lips that makes her more lightheaded than the drink she enjoyed not too long ago.

  
"For the record, you are never 'just Piper'." She breathlessly tells her, their lips still merely an inch apart.

Piper blushes at her words for what has to be the tenth time today. "For the record, you obviously don't need to sleep on the couch anymore. Just sneak up and don't wake Nat because she has school tomorrow."

  
The door makes the smallest creak as it's opened slowly. It's hard to forget to oil the door hinges when the eldest of the Wright sisters makes going home at unholy hours a regular activity. Nat grumbles something in her sleep as they tip toe up the stairs.

  
Snake is ready for the relief of sleeping on a proper bed but one look at Piper's poor excuse of one dashes that hope. "Wow, uh..."

  
Piper's bed is left unmade. The one pillow is on the ground and a ratty blanket is crumpled at the foot of the bed. Moreover, the bed sheets are filled with holes and there's a pile of papers and folders by her bed that look like they're going to tumble over any second now. An ashtray lies to the side of it, filled with old cigarette butts. Snake has no idea how she didn't notice this or how small the twin bed was before now.

  
"Welcome to my organized mess." Piper whispers, heading over to the corner of her room to hang her coat and hat up. She quickly throws her sweater into a chair with piles of clean yet unmade clothes, looking around for her pajamas. "You're pretty much the only person who's been up here besides Nat. I don't take anyone home, so..."

  
Snake gulps as her eyes unwittingly follow Piper's every move as she flings her bra to the side, taking in the smooth dip of her back and the small shiver she makes before she pulls her top on and rids herself of her pants. She jumps around on one foot for a bit as she tries to pull it off, revealing a pair of small black panties that frame the swell of her butt like a million dollar painting. She quickly turns her head away before her thoughts can bring about her downfall, taking her jacket off and smoothly pulling the kevlar over her head. She takes off her elbow and knee pads off, lamenting not having a pair of pajamas to change into.

  
"Here." Piper tosses her an old pair of shorts.

  
Snake nods in appreciation. "My savior." She feels a pair of eyes on her as she changes into them, throwing off her shirt and getting into the bed as quietly as she can.

  
"Sorry, I know it's a terrible bed." She sincerely apologizes, looking at how the vault dweller alone is taking up most of the space on it. It's not a bad sight to see her mostly undressed and in her bed, but the indecipherable expression on her face is a bit alarming. "I've been saving up to get Nat her own bed so I've had to deal with this for a while."

  
"Piper, I've slept on rocks and in caves and jungles and more." Snake yawns, making space and petting the spot next to her. "C'mere. It'll be more comfortable with you on it."

  
She fully expected to find it hard to go to sleep with Snake this close to her after their encounters today, but when Piper pulls the old blanket over them and blissfully sighs as she sinks into the warmth of her arms, she feels sleep quickly taking over her. She feels a feather light kiss on her cheek. "Will you still be here tomorrow morning?" She mumbles.

  
"Yeah, I'll head out around noon with MacCready so I'll have time to make you and Nat something." Snake nuzzles into the back of her neck, entangling their bare legs together as she slips an arm over a slim waist. "What do you want for breakfast?" No reply. Snake raises her head, looking over to see Piper's eyes closed shut as she begins to snore lightly. She pulls the blanket over her shoulder, smiling when the reporter curls further into her chest in her sleep. "Good night, beautiful."

 

 

 

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I've been super busy building furniture in my new house as I've been for recently but I'm really trying to maintain a regular update schedule. This chapter is another dialogue heavy one because I just realized that I haven't really done anything with Piper's backstory, not that there was much of it in the game anyway. The next chapter will be nonstop story-progression action so get ready for that! 
> 
> As usual, leave a comment if you're still reading. I love reading all of your thoughts!

Piper wakes up to the sweet smell of cooked batter and hot coffee filling the entirety of her office. She shivers, pulling the blanket over her as she reaches around her to find no warm body on the bed with her. _What time is it?_

  
"I didn't know canned pancakes existed until today." Comes a voice from the stairs. Snake walks up expertly balancing two plates of the breakfast food while her other hand manages to simultaneously hold two cups of steaming coffee. Her hair is still messy from sleep and she's still dressed in nothing more than her bra and the shorts she borrowed from her last night. "I guess they're too American to die off, even after a nuclear apocalypse."

  
The reporter lazily brings herself to a sitting position, resting her head on her elbow as she watches the other woman come to her. "Breakfast in bed, huh? You really know how to treat a girl." A pleased smile is plastered to the face as she takes in the view before her.

  
Snake's hair is still mussed up and the shorts she's wearing are faded and due for an upgrade, but the sight of her bringing her food in nothing more than that and her bra is something Piper never thought she'd appreciate so much. Her chestnut brown hair tumbles over her shoulders and the perfect V of her torso is nicely highlighted by the light of the morning sun. She puts the cups down on the bedside table, lowering herself to Piper's level to give her a quick peck on the lips before passing her a plate. "Hey, sleepyhead. Natalie just left for school. Tell me I got your coffee right?"

  
"We'll see." Piper raises the cup to her nose, taking in a deep whiff. The beverage is a nice light brown, a nice contrast to Snake's darker one. She takes a sip, sighing in satisfaction at her first sweet fix of caffeine for the day, although she suspects she'll have many more before the day is over. "That's it, I'm keeping you." She immediately says after she downs it some more.

  
"That's funny. Nat said the exact same thing before she left, probably because she loves that I keep on bringing her food." She clears her throat, her cheeks going a bit red. "Also, I may have went down dressed like this and she saw me digging around in your pantry. That was the most uncomfortable five seconds of eye contact I've had in my life."

  
The pancakes are all somewhat misshapen and one is a bit crispy looking. She cuts up a piece and puts it in her mouth, smiling sweetly and quietly hoping Nat won't make too big of a fuss about it. "What makes you think I'm keeping you around for your cooking? Maybe I just want to watch you lounge around here with those washboard abs of yours some more."

  
"Come on, Piper, that's such a harsh thing to say after I made all that effort to get up and make you food. And here I thought you'd keep me because you cared." Snake feigns a dejected pout, lazily forking a bite into her mouth before she starts to wonder out loud.

  
"Of course I care, you big goof." Piper assures her, putting her hand on the older woman's thigh. She slowly shrugs and feels her voice begin to stutter. The only noise she makes for a while is the barely audible sound of herself chewing. "I kinda really like having you around." She says after a while.

  
"I kind of got that." She gives her a look as she sips on her cup of coffee. "You were trying pretty hard to get into my pants yesterday."

  
The reporter smacks her lightly on her arm. "Hey, it's not like I know how this entire... thing... works."

  
"What thing, Piper?" Snake asks, savoring the last bite of her pancake.

  
The reporter looks away, uneasily twiddling her fingers. "Y'know..."

  
The veteran puts sets her plate aside, turning to better see the woman she's talking to. "No, I don't..." She replies, the bewilderment stapled on her face. 

  
With enough trouble, Piper breathes out and hopes she doesn't sound as tense as she feels. "Us?" The word comes out as a skittish squeak.

  
"Oh." Snake finally understands, nodding her head. "You're asking me the 'what are we' question." When she doesn't receive a reply, she assumes that she is. She takes another sip to prolong the time she has before she has to give an answer, only to discover that she's downed the contents of her cup already. "If you want... uh..." _Where the hell is the charm I used to have?_

  
"I know, you're probably way more experienced at this than I am 'cause you were married and all I've been doing since I was eleven is help my parents take care of Nat, and that means me working one stupid job after another from dawn until dusk until I made the paper and wound up here." She sighs, cocooning herself in her blanket in an instant and turning away like a petulant child. "I really have no clue what I'm doing here, Blue."

  
Snake isn't sure if she should be asking this. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

  
Piper just nods and doesn't say anything, her back still turned. All there is for a few seconds is silence. She doesn't take the lack of response well, turning around and sitting up again if only to make herself feel less small. "My mom was our biggest source of caps and when she passed away giving birth to Nat, I had to step up and help my dad make caps for the family. That means no fun date nights for teen me or adult me, in case I wasn't clear."

  
"I'm really sorry, Piper." Snake cringes at her own lack of a better response. "What did she do?"

  
"She was a doctor." She sighs, remembering the day her mother's pink lips turned ashen and gray, never to return to it's former glory. "The only one in the entire settlement. She was a good one too."

  
Snake can see where this is going. "And because she was the only doctor, no one else was there to help when there were complications."

  
"Exactly." She confirms, pulling the blanket over her frame a bit more. "She didn't believe in charging people ridiculous amounts for medical care so she did a lot of stuff for free. It was great, we ended up expanding a lot because people had more money to invest into farming and caravans. We were a small settlement... it made them both so proud whenever we got something new for the entire community to use. It also meant we didn't have a lot of caps to save, though, and babies are expensive to take care of."

  
"I know. I remember going baby shopping for Shaun." She sympathetically takes her hand into hers, gently stroking the back of her palm with her thumb. "Your mother sounded like an amazing woman. It's no wonder you turned out amazing too."

  
"Thanks, Blue. She was." Piper smiles fondly, remembering the warm hazel eyes and gorgeous brown locks she was known for. Boy, did she have a mouth on her too. She taught her eldest daughter how to not take shit very well. "Nat really takes after her. They've even got the same attitude."

  
"Do you look more like your dad, then?"

  
A nod. "Yeah. Peter Wright. He was a real knight in shining armor, that one. Swept my mom off her feet from day one."

  
_Was_. "What was he like?"

  
"Stubborn, really protective, and fiercely loyal. I got my hair and eyes from him." She chuckles, remembering how his short cropped hair grew so shaggy during his last days. His deep green eyes had dulled so much from the fatigue he accumulated from the double shifts he took on to feed the three of them and his clean shaven face gave way to a permanent five o'clock shadow that he always used to shave off because her mom didn't like kissing a scratchy face. "Peter and Nicole Wright. They used to be one hell of a power couple, back in the day. We were a small settlement but they were so proud of the work they did."

  
"That's where Piper and Natalie came from? That's cute." Snake laughs, picturing the happy little family together. The image of little Piper stomping around in knee high boots made for feet three sizes too big is just too adorable. "I guess your mom taught you a lot about patching wounds up, huh? Lucky me."

  
"Yeah, I used to get into my share of fights when I was little so she had to teach me or else she'd be spending all her time on her shifts fixing me up."

  
Snake notices the smile on the reporter's face, peeking at her pip boy to make sure she still has enough time to appreciate it before she has to go. She still has a bit of time. "Little Piper was a hero already, huh?"

  
"How'd you think I managed to hold my own in the Combat Zone?" She puts a fist over her chest proudly. "I was the defender of the defenseless, even if it meant getting beat up by kids five years my senior. I used to come home with blackened eyes and cuts on my face, this one time I got a fractured rib and my parents were super unhappy about that." As she continues her tirade, Piper notices how Snake nods along, listening intently at her story. The vault dweller smiles and props her chin up on her elbow as the gaze of her blue eyes takes on a heady, almost dreamy look. "I really miss them sometimes. It feels like no one's really supported me in anything I've been doing since they passed away, except for my sister."

  
"I wish we knew each other as kids. The shenanigans we'd have been up to as teenagers. I think I'd have liked your parents." Snake sighs wistfully. "For the record, I know I'm not exactly a master of investigation like you or Nick but if you ever need a door kicked down, I'm your woman."

  
"I think they'd love you. My dad, especially, would have been crazy about you." Piper smiles weakly. "Nothing was really the same after mom died. Sometimes I still think dad wouldn't have been caught by surprise and got killed on duty if he wasn't constantly falling over due to lack of sleep." There's more to that story but she doesn't elaborate.

  
"God, Piper..." Snake tries to think of something, anything to cheer her up. "Where's this settlement? We can try to make contact with them once we have our purifier up and running, maybe negotiate something with the minutemen. Your parents worked so hard for it, we can make sure it's not going to go to waste."

  
The look on Piper's face tells her that was definitely the wrong thing to say. "It was wiped out ten years ago, Blue. I was out with Nat with nothing more than my dad's rusty pistol to get some water to boil for making dinner and we came back to the entire place on fire, no survivors. I still think to this day how thankful I am that nobody was able to babysit that day, or else..."

  
"Did you ever find out who it was who did it? And why?" Snake bites her lip regretfully.

  
Piper shakes her head. "Me and Nat drifted around for three years after that until I managed to scrounge up enough to get us a spot in here." She licks her dry lips, wondering if she should say this. "I... I did notice a couple of things, though. I told Nat to hide while I went back in to recover what I could, which was nothing except for a couple of clothes."

  
"Like what?"   
"It doesn't look like raiders or gunners or super mutants or anyone else I can think of. The town was picked clean." She begins, lowering her voice instinctively whenever she broaches the subject. "I've looked at all the possibilities and it really looks as if there's only one boogeyman that could've done it. Super mutants would have turned the place into a slaughterhouse, raiders are way too careless not to leave any evidence behind, and gunners would have at least left shells behind from their fancy expensive guns. That leaves-"

  
"The Institute." Snake's voice is but a whisper.

  
Piper grimly nods. "So that's why I'm a weirdo with no friends and no saucy teenage hookup stories. I wasn't really going to wander off and leave my sister to fend for herself while I shack up with whoever's knocking on my door." She wrinkles her nose as if there's a sweaty gym sock being hovered over her face. "And it's not like the Commonwealth's not filled with morally bankrupt, can't-get-a-hint idiots who make me want to seal my panties with a ten pound lock-" She quickly pauses when she notices that Snake hasn't blinked in way too long. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  
"Do you know what it is about you that really gets me going?" The vault dweller asks her, not even waiting for an answer before she continues onto her point. "I've seen comrades and enemies alike do horrible things in the name of 'justice', I even had to gun people in my squad down because of it, but I stood my ground because I thought things like that only happened in war. When I retired and got a comfy house with a soft bed and a big backyard, I saw the exact same things happening all around me in this very city and there was no one who wanted to do anything about it."

  
"Guess that's just how people are, huh?" Piper chuckles at her own rhetorical question. She doesn't need to ask if that's why she joined law enforcement after her retirement, which led to the plethora of marital problems she talked about before. "You have to jump over a million hurdles to convince them to care."

  
"That's why you don't have to explain yourself to me. You put your family first ever since you were that young and that's really selfless, even for you. I've seen hundreds of people do less than you while having all the power in the world to help." Snake smiles enigmatically, trying to word this less harshly, but the amusement is too difficult for her to hide. "And I do get what you mean by this place lacking eligible bachelorettes. I wouldn't pop my legs open for them either."

  
"You should see the kinds of fan mail I get. They're not as charming as the senders think they are." Piper outwardly cringes, suddenly remembering that she still has a bunch of lewd letters to throw away. They would've been useful for yesterday's fire. "Anyway, so... you really don't think I'm weird for being twenty four and single since forever?"

  
"I don't think you're weird for it, I just thought you were kidding me at first." Snake lets herself lie back on the bed to relax. Piper sighs in relief, something she's been dying to do for a while. The veteran looks up at her and smiles. "Hey, it's okay to be nervous. I gotta admit that being around you makes me nervous too."

  
"Oh, come on." Piper waves her off. "You're just saying that to make me feel better. You were married, you definitely know your way around girls better than I do."

  
"Can I see your hand?"

  
The question confuses her somewhat. "Sure?"

  
Snake takes her hand and slowly guides it to her chest. Piper's eyes widen in panic as her fingertips brush against the roundness of her breast, finding herself relieved yet slightly disappointed when her hand stops on the woman's wildly thumping heart instead. "Believe me now?" She looks away, barely hiding the tremble in her voice. She looks up at the ceiling, letting the hand linger on her chest. "I've never wanted to just stay in bed all day with someone until I met you. I've always been an early riser. Never was one to make breakfast for two too, although that one must've been pretty obvious."

  
"Not even with..."

  
She shakes her head. "No. You, though? I just want to do everything with you it makes me groan just thinking about how I have to leave soon and that's never happened to me before. Keep an eye on that mailbox for me, would you? If I get held up, I'll send something out with one of the salvage teams to drop off."

  
"I know you don't belong to me, Blue. I can't tell you to just stay cooped up in here, and I wouldn't want to. We've both got our jobs to do." Piper lets her hand run through the vault dweller's thick brown locks, slowly leaning down to give her forehead a kiss. "Although I'm going to give you one mission that you can't fail, soldier."

  
"What's that, ma'am?"

  
"I know you'll come back banged up, maybe with some pretty big scrapes along the way. I know that's just part of the job, but I want you to do one thing and that's to come back to me alive." She tells her, her voice soft yet firm. Her hands cradle the face of the sole survivor of Vault 111 solidly. "No excuses."

  
The veteran smiles, giving her a mockery of a salute. "Can do. Only on one condition, though."

  
"What's that?"

  
"You have to come back to me alive too." She brings herself back onto a sitting position, not once breaking eye contact. She ghosts the pad of her thumb over the soft, clear skin of the reporter's cheek as she tenderly presses her forehead to hers. "This time and the time after that, and the one after, and so on."

  
Piper kisses her after she utters that sentence, and the taste stays with her long after she's gone. She can taste it after her fifth cup of coffee as she rifles through her mountain of files at Nick's, and even after she has her cigarette while waiting for her dinner at Takahashi's. When she's finished her dinner and gets herself another cup, she starts to wonder if she just wants to feel her lips on hers again so badly that she's been imagining it this whole time.

  
By the time the hour is so odd that not even the Dugout Inn is making noise, she massages the sides of her temples to rid herself of the headache brought on by all that caffeine.

  
"Are you holding up okay there?" Nick asks her, looking over his stack of papers.

  
"I've been through worse." She gives him a hardy nod. "As long as I'm not hallucinating yet, I'm good."

  
The synth looks at her and puts his file down. "Let's compare our files and piece together what we can before that happens, then. I'm not a doctor, but I feel like I'm obligated to tell you that long periods of time without sleep isn't good for you."

  
The latter part of his words goes into one of her ears and right out the other. "Okay. We just have a bunch of incidents that could be Kellogg, but we don't really know if it's him. We just need to find a real pattern we can stick his name to. We're shooting in the dark otherwise."

  
"Our friend informed me of a handy little tidbit. Thought I'd mention it to you." He puffs on his cigarette, flicking it like an afterthought. "His weapon of choice is a high caliber revolver. Specifically, a .44 caliber one. According to Snake, it's the only visible weapon he carries and it has a custom made bull barrel that's very large and heavy. He had a team of people with him dressed in hazard suits."

  
"That just confirms my theory that whoever his employer is, if he even has one, they're really wealthy. Those hazard suits don't come cheap." Her face tightens uncomfortably as she processes his words. "He must be really strong to be able to use a weapon like that, and really confident in his marksmanship and comrades to not carry anything else."

  
Nick frowns. "Piper, you might not know this but revolvers that aren't of the pipe variety don't eject shells. Has this come up in any of your investigations at all?"

  
"All the ravaged town cases I only got wind of once those towns were up in smoke or blown to bits." She regretfully sighs, forcing her head to think through the throbbing aching that's starting to feel unbearable. "That bastard is good at hiding his tracks."

  
"What could he have to hide, I wonder?" He continues her thoughts. "I've collected similar cases that date back years and years ago. He only targets smaller settlements, but established enough to have quite a few resources. He must be a very old man by now, if it's all him."

  
"But that can't be, then. If those are all him then he must be fifty or even sixty right now... unless..." Piper might be delirious right now but her thoughts race through her head like a powerful current and shocks her with the conclusion it reaches. She can barely believe it, even as she speaks it out loud. "Unless he's a synth. An Institute synth."

  
"That's a very plausible scenario, but a questionable one. They only learned to make infiltrator synths sixty years ago, while this pattern's been going on for even longer. Besides, the Institute usually sends out their coursers for issues like wreaking havoc. " Nick nods, locking his fingers together. "Or these other incidents might not be Kellogg at all. It might be that his employers have a team of ruthless men like him and they all follow the same MO."

  
The reporter yawns loudly, mentally chastising herself for failing to take that into account. "Of course I forgot about that. That would explain why they hide their tracks. It's to hide that they're being done by a group of people instead of one man."

  
"Are you sure you don't want to get some rest, Piper?" Nick asks her, although it seems less of a question and more of a request for her to go to bed. "I'm the one getting paid for this, after all."

  
She sighs in defeat. "You're right, I should probably go to sleep. I'm starting to lose my edge."

  
"Hey, we've been at this for a whole seventeen hours." He gestures to the piles and piles of papers scattered on his desk and the ground. "You've earned some rest."

  
Piper waves him goodbye on the way out, the walk back to her bed seeming like it's a mile longer than it actually is. She remembers to lock the door behind her, noting that the sun is coming up already. Her clothes are carelessly thrown onto the floor as she collapses onto it, too tired to even pull the blanket around her. She sighs. She can still recognize Snake's scent on her pillow as she tosses and turns, unsure of why she can't go to sleep even though the birds are chirping outside to signify that a new day has officially begun.

  
_Revolver. No shells. Targets small settlements that are still established enough to have quite a few resources. No survivors._ She runs through the list of points in her head, continuing and hoping sleep will take her soon. It's like her own version of counting sheep. _Place blown to bits or burnt to the ground._

  
Her eyes snap open, the whites of her eyes lined with angry red veins. "No way."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so excited to write character development for everyone. It kind of made me sad that in the game, the characterizations were kind of... iffy? For example, I found it kind of silly that you could become Nick's BFF by hacking a bunch of computers. Plus, I thought a lot of the companions had so much potential that wasn't really utilized that well and you have no idea how pumped I am to do this.


	11. Chapter 11

Snake puts down the heap of junk, wiping the sweat from her brow as she takes a gulp of nice and clean water. She anxiously taps her foot on the ground as she takes a brief moment of rest on the chair she hauled onto the roof of her house in Sanctuary, appreciating how it’s height lets her see everything from the guard tower that was just erected to the large water purifier Sturges is inspecting for faults. There's the sound of MacCready giving the new minutemen guards sharpshooting lessons and Preston throwing in handfuls of tips to the ones they plan on putting at the front of the lines.

The newest addition to their little town, Curie, is talking to some of the settlers about the basics of field medicine. The Nurse Handy is a very welcome addition to their growing settlement, especially with the amount of medical care they're bound to need. However, it's the sight of Cait coming back with a pack brahmin that catches her attention. Ignoring the soreness in her behind from days and days of heavy lugging, she leaps up and nearly falls off the ladder trying to reach the redhead, slowing down near the end to make it look like she didn't just run to her because of her impatience.

"Hey, Cait-"

"No, she didn't leave a message." Said former fighter answers her question before it was asked. "And I knocked on her door hard enough this time for the guards to come and threaten to kick me out, so I know she's not home."

"I was going to ask you if you think the red rocket truck stop would be a good spot for a bar." Snake keeps her face neutral although she's somewhat disappointed by the news.

"Now we're talkin'." Cait's face takes a devilish turn. "Too bad it won't be as fun as the last time we went to one together."

"Be careful what you wish for. I've got a feeling we'll have no shortage in bones to break any time soon." Snake doesn't mention the little box of chems she keeps hidden very well under her bed. Running out of med-x when you’re fishing a bullet out of someone is never fun.

She quickly returns to the hut she built on the roof of her neighbor's house a while ago, picking up her pen and resuming what she was writing before. She'll leave it with whoever goes out for the next rotation to leave in Piper's mailbox, although it seems that the reporter is out and about somewhere.

_Dear Piper,_

_Shit, so many things have happened since the last time I wrote to you. Did you get my letter? I rescued a cat from a super mutant, or maybe rescued the super mutant from the cat. Not sure who was winning. The people from Vault 81 told me they'd give you an interview, though, and they also gave me a room there so we can hit them up whenever we want some clean sheets and a hot shower. You won't believe what happened in there, so I can't wait to see you and tell you all about it. Thanks to the tons of new settlers we got thanks to your article, we managed to build the water purifier and set up defenses really quickly. I'm actually thinking of building a bar-_

"General."

Snake snatches the piece of paper and hides it under her bag. She promptly stands up, greeting Preston as he stands by her doorway. "Hey. Is it time for us to head out again?"

"I'm afraid so." The tall man's brows are furrowed and his lips are turned downward. His gun is slung around him, ready for battle. "Just got a call from a settlement down south saying they've been noticing some men sneaking around. They don't look like raiders, so it's probably gunners looking for an easy target."

"Gunners? We'd better head out quick. I’ve been getting antsy in here." She fetches her rifle from it's resting spot beside her. "Where's this settlement at?"

"I'll lead the way, no time to explain." He motions for her to follow, leaving before she can ask more.

Dogmeat joins them right before they leave, sporting a new vest that they looted from some police station Nick told them about. They don't even find the time to say goodbye before they're crossing the bridge, keeping a brisk pace.

"The new troops are faring well." Snake decides to start a bit of small talk.

Preston gives her a rare smile that she seldom saw during the first days of their settlement. It's a carefree grin that shows his teeth, something she suspects he didn't get to show very often when he was on the run from one threat or another. "Really well. We've got sentries keeping watch on the towers twenty four seven now, thanks to MacCready. There's a steady line of supplies coming in, we have a one robot medical team, and with your help, Sturges managed to build the purifier and defenses really fast."

That's no small feat for sure. "How long do you think it'll take before we can rely on our militia?"

"We've all taken our turns training them. Cait's teaching them hand to hand, MacCready's handling the sharpshooters and the two of us have been teaching them everything else." Preston takes a second to think about his answer. "I wouldn't trust them to go out alone yet but in time, they should be ready to answer calls with one of us leading them. All in all, everything's looking good."

And that means it won't be long before she can continue her search for Kellogg and visit her favorite reporter in the Commonwealth. She walks a bit faster remembering that, eager to hasten her work. "Fantastic. I'll stop by my friend in Diamond City to pass on word that commerce is ready to go at Sanctuary."

"Whoever your friend is, I'm glad she's on our side. It's that lady who writes the paper, right? I hear she can sniff out anything fishy from ten miles away." The minuteman whistles loud and clear. He shakes his head as all his worry falls away. "I had my doubts about you. I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never seen someone so good at killing and didn’t go crazy with power. But if the paper's vouching for you then I'll bet my money that you're trustworthy."

"Really, Preston?" She says in mock exasperation. "I'm losing sleep over hauling junk, making alliances with hermit vaults and killing raiders like flies to get us enough resources to start up and a newspaper article is what gets me your trust?"

"Not just mine, but probably everyone else who's flocked into our settlement in the last while." He tilts his hat up to let her see his face better. Preston would normally feel stupid putting this much trust on a person he's never even met but he doesn't doubt his next words. "If there's a personification for journalistic integrity, your friend's it. I’ve been a long time fan."

Snake doesn't reply to him at first. She sighs, rolling her shoulders to soothe the soreness borne from a week straight of nonstop building. "That's Piper, alright. Everyone's got an opinion about her, be it good or bad."

"We should be there very soon, the coordinates-" Preston's words die on the tip of his tongue, the gasp dying at the back of his throat. "My God..."

The vault dweller looks to the direction of his gaze to spot a tall column of thick, black smoke billowing into the air, so dark that it blocks the rays of the setting sun. From the top of the little hill they're on, they can see the little town they expected to find submerged in a sea of all consuming fire. It almost seems surreal until the gusty winds blow in their faces, carrying with it the suffocating smell of char and death.

"Comb the place for survivors. Expect hostiles." Snake quickly commands before bolting.

Preston nods before he follows. "Got it."

Holding her breath is just about the only thing Snake can do to not throw up when they finally reach the main road. The smoke burns but there's something else she recognizes, something unmistakable and unforgettable like the smell of gasoline, burnt fat and muscle. It takes a while to see through all the black but the first body they come across confirms it. The dead woman's pastel yellow sundress is half gone from the flames, and so is whatever is below her waist. Her charring flesh has blackened unrecognizably but her face tells a different story. Although all the blonde hair on her head is singed and most of the skin has burned to reveal the  flesh underneath, the two are still able to recognize the hole on her forehead from the bullet that killed her. The force of the shot has blown out a large circular hole on her face comparable to the width of a nuka cola, leaving the scream she died with the only recognizable feature left identifiable. 

Snake's hand grips her rifle so hard that even in the middle of all this smoke, Preston can see the veins on her hand popping. He would tell her to stay calm but then he looks down and sees his hand doing the same thing. They check every broken down door after another, finding more and more bodies, all of them with their brains quite literally blown out.  There’s a dead man lying beside a the body of a little boy who couldn’t have been older than twelve, the corpses of a young couple splayed out on a bed holding each other, one that’s sitting in a wardrobe that was undoubtedly used as a hiding place.  There’s more but they both begin to feel the fire in their lungs along with over their skin. They know they can't keep this up for much longer. The war veteran turns sharply to check the last shed, having slim hope of finding anything different. 

Except there is somebody inside. 

She's hunched down, heavily gasping, and her pistol is aimed at Snake's gut the instant the vault dweller steps inside. The green scarf is covering her nose but that can only do so much at this point. Her hazel green eyes take on the color of molten steel as her tearful eyes reflect the color of the carnage around her, somehow staying wide open despite the sting of the fumes.

"Piper? What the hell?" Snake lowers her sights, checking if what she's seeing is right.

It takes a second for Piper to lower her own gun, her eyes still unblinking. "It's you." Her voice is nearly drowned out by the sound of collapsing wood.

"Yeah, it's me." Snake grabs her wrist, ignoring the confusion on Preston's face as she pulls the reporter out. "We have to get out of here!"

A loud snap from above them leads her to hold back, holding her arm out to shield them from the incoming debris falling down.

"General!" Preston yells, just as the burning heap separates him from them. He coughs from the cloud of dust it kicks up as it falls. He raises his gun to shoot the heap, hoping he can clear a path, but stops when he realizes that his fiery ammo will only stoke the fire.

"Stay back, I've got you." Snake firmly leads Piper back, scanning her surroundings for any sort of structural weakness she can exploit. Her eyes burn with tears and her sight darkens with every passing second. "Piper, I can't see. Where's the part of this thing that's just wood?"

Her words fall on deaf ears. The Diamond City resident looks at her, finally blinking, but that's all she does. Her mouth is open but all she does is try harder to get some oxygen in her lungs, an effort that’s proving to be futile.

"Snake to Piper! Wakey wakey!" She raises her voice higher, waving in front of Piper's face as she squints her eyes. She curses when she realizes she's not going to have any help, shooting at the wall opposite of them and hoping  for the best . One bullet hits metal with a loud clang and rebounds, whizzing past her face to hit the wall behind her. “ Fucking hell!” She hisses.

“To your right.” Piper finally heaves, her voice breathy and weak.

She directs the burst to the  right , hearing the sound of splintering wood. She continues to empty most of her magazine into the wall, pushing herself off her tips of her feet to dedicate her entire weight into a powerful kick that  goes right through the damaged wall.  She curses loudly yet again when her leg is stuck in the  resulting  hole, but luckily Piper puts an arm around her waist to prevent her from falling over and blowing her knee out. A pair of powerful gloved hands peek through the hole, prying away it’s pieces without delay. 

It’s not working, not fast enough. Piper sees Snake backing up and by the time she realizes what the woman is doing, she’s already launched herself at the wall, breaking through it like a cannonball.  T he Diamond City resident jumps out after her  to see Preston’ s hand on her’s to help the vault dweller up. A loud crash sounds behind her and the hot air  coming from behind  feels like it’s about to melt her skin, but none of them look back to see the collapsed building before they run as quickly as they possibly can. 

They don’t stop until they’re far enough that they can breathe in without smelling death anymore. Snake pants heavily, putting her hand on her knee to support herself, but it’s the look on Piper’s face that still makes her chest feel like she’s suffocating still. The sun has almost gone down completely but  her eyes still reflect the color of the flames and the warm green hasn’t returned,  just like a forest fire that’s burning down a lush forest . Snake grabs hold of of her shoulders, shaking her firmly. 

The sudden gesture startles her out of it.  She stops seeing red as it’s replaced by the anxious blue eyes of the vault dweller .  It’s the only part of Snake that’s not covered in splinters and soot, making her look not unlike a hedgehog, but none of them have the capacity to joke about that right now. 

Preston is the first to start speaking, removing his hat to fan himself. “Commonwealth minutemen.” He says, taking a second to catch his breath. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.” Piper answers, looking down.

“What the hell were you doing in there?” Snake asks the question she’s been meaning to ask ever since their eyes met. She’s still recovering on the ground, wiping her clothes uselessly. All she’s doing is getting her hands dirtier.

“It’s a... long story.” She vaguely answers, all too aware of the presence of the tall stranger with them. “Let me guess, Preston Garvey?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nods politely. “And you are?” 

“The woman we’re all thanking for all the new settlers.” Snake tells him, standing up. “Preston Garvey, Piper Wright. I have a feeling we’ll all be spending a lot of time together.”

“You’re the one who writes the paper?” Preston’s eyes widen in admiration. He gives her a respectful smile. “You’re doing a lot of good. Not everyone has the guts to do the stuff you do.” 

“You sure you don’t want an autograph, Preston?” Snake asks, but the mood doesn’t get lighter. She gives the other a questioning look for her lack of a clear answer but she understands what she means. She just can’t say it with the minuteman around, no matter how trustworthy he may be. She directs everyone’s attention to the elephant in the room. “What the hell happened here?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Piper frowns, her shoulders sagging with fatigue. She seems doubtful in revealing her cards yet. “What did you notice when you were in there?”

Snake takes a moment to organize her answer. “All the bodies we found have consistent wounds made by a high caliber weapon. Most of them are located inside their homes...” She has trouble answering more. It’s not like it was easy to see in there and she was focused more on finding people alive more than anything else. But something strikes her as odd, very odd. Both Preston and Piper can see her  nostrils begin to flare in anger when she realizes what it is . “I’ve seen th at kind of entrance wound before .” 

Piper bites her tongue. “All the locks were broken open. The scattered items on the ground were placed a way that makes it seem like they were blocking the doorway. Those people died in their homes because they barricaded themselves in. Whoever they were up against, they knew they had no chance of running or beating them.”

Snake doesn’t need his name to be spoken out loud to know that it has to be him. “That bastard.” She grits her teeth, clenching her fist so tight that it hurts the tips of her fingers for them to press so hard against the surface of her gloves.

Unfortunately, the observant reporter still has more to say. “There’s no way one man could have done this because you’d need numbers to get people to hide the way they did, but if you look at most of the wounds, you’ll find that they’re all gunshot wounds to the head that look like they were fired from the same weapon.”

“A large caliber revolver.” Snake spells it out, trying to keep her face neutral in Preston’s presence.

“Holy hell, you figured all this out that fast?” Preston whistles, impressed although he’s no less unhappy than they are. “I could barely see my own feet. How long were you there for?”

“Probably just before you guys arrived, judging by how close behind you were.”

“Impressive as always, huh?” Snake points the muzzle of her rifle at the sky, her forced smile failing to hide the killing intent in her eyes. “All I could figure out in that chaos is that I’m going to track down whoever did this and kill him.”

“Whoa, whoa.” Preston stops her right there, standing his ground despite the glare she gives him. He points to the burning town, still holding his head high with the pride of a minuteman. “This is horrible, plain and simple. I want to go out and hunt who’s responsible too but you’re our general. Our job is to protect, not take revenge. I wish we could bring them to justice but we don’t even know who these people are. We’d be spreading ourselves way too thin if we try to comb through the entire Commonwealth and make sure we can protect ourselves at the same time.”

The two women both sneak a look of mutual understanding that passes too quick for him to notice. Snake looks back to him before he suspects anything. “Preston, we have a fairly defensible position, we practically have a moat with few entrance points. There’s turrets and traps set up at strategic points. Do you think I’ll be able to step away for a couple of days? There’s something really important I have to do.”

It takes a bit for him to contemplate his answer, but he represses a sigh and nods dutifully. “Of course.”

“Hey, what’s with that tone of voice?” Snake cocks her head to the side and smirks. “We’ve got water, settlers, weapons, armor, name it.”

“We don’t have adequate housing yet and the farms are still being set up.” He reminds her diplomatically.

She groans at the very thought. “Well, that’s just because we were busy building the other stuff. It’ll get sorted soon. My point is that you’ve got actual fighters now, not just civilians. Given enough time, we’ll have soldiers.” Snake doesn’t mention the guilt the former last minuteman feels from the deaths his group suffered before Concord, something he still hasn’t forgiven himself for despite knowing that civilians can’t handle orders like soldiers can. She gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Troops who’ll show you that you’re a damn good leader given the right people to follow you.”

He laughs softly, putting his hat back on. “When you say it like that, you actually make me believe that it’s true. That’s why you’re our leader.” His eyes are warm as he walks past them towards his new home. “I’ll make sure everything’s set for when you’re back, ma’am.”

“C’mon, Preston, stop that.” Snake calls out to him once she sees that he’s heading out alone. “We’ve had breakfast together in our ugly pajamas and we make small talk during laundry, you don’t get to ‘ma’am’ me anymore.”

Preston doesn’t turn to face her but they can both see his shoulders shake from a small laugh. “Sure thing, General.”

“He’s a good one.” Snake tells Piper, when he’s too far away to hear. “Just needs to know that being a leader means making your choice and dealing with consequences and that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re shit at your job. Sometimes it means losing one so you don’t lose two.”

“Yeah, about that. You shouldn’t start expanding yet. Just focus really hard on making Sancutary as defensible as it can possibly be.” Piper’s first steps back to Diamond City still feel somewhat lightheaded after inhaling so much smoke. “I found a lot of super interesting things that you need to know about.”

Straight to business. It’s not the way she’d hoped their first meeting in a while would go. “Shoot.”

“For as long as I can remember, nothing survives for long in the Commonwealth, especially not smaller settlements. I’ve been looking at a lot of cases both me and Nick had of settlements being picked clean as soon as they have their feet on the ground and we’ve established the same patterns in every single one.” Piper begins, eyes clear and focused. “The town we were just at fits all of them.”

“Are you saying that Kellogg is responsible for all of them?” Snake asks her incredulously.

She shakes her head. “No, these patterns have been going on for way longer than he’s even been alive. I’m talking about over a century.”

“My brain hurts.” Snake simply says, unable to connect the dots. “God, this is so complicated.”

“Me and Nick’s current suspicion is that Kellogg belongs to some mysterious mercenary company that’s been terrorizing the Commonwealth for a really long time.” She spells it out for her. “As soon as a small settlement gets big enough to start rising, poof! Everyone there is killed.”

“But why?” She sneers. “Jesus fucking Christ, so is this why it’s been two centuries and everything still looks like shit? Because every time humanity tries to rise again, it gets shot down and blown up?”

“That’s part of the reason.” Piper sighs tiredly. “I’ve been looking into every case and it really seems like what they’re after is resources. Nick says they’re mostly after circuits, pre-war tech, fancy schmancy stuff.”

“And they’re attacking settlements instead of just rifling through them in old factories or whatever because they know that people will concentrate those in one place eventually in order to build up.” Snake deduces, her voice tremoring slightly. “Like taking candy from a baby, even if it means killing everyone there.”

“Good job, Blue.” Piper smiles proudly. “You’re getting the hang of this.”

“Hey, I might not be you but I didn’t liberate Alaska by going shirtless and beating my chest while riding on a tank with ten bombs strapped to it.” She says, feigning offense at her statement. “I’m actually really impressed that you managed to figure this out so fast while I was busy grunting and lifting heavy stuff all day. Y’know, more impressed than usual.”

“I’m impressed that you guys got settled so fast.” Piper returns the compliment.

Snake recalls the long days she spent in the sun, drilling the new troops for eight hours and helping with building for another six. “I may have worked a lot of full days and whipped everyone into shape so we could be done with it already. Kinda got the itch to head out and see you but I couldn’t really leave the place alone with troops that didn’t even know how to reload without shooting themselves in the foot.”

“Yeah, I’ve been living on caffeine and sweets, either locking myself in Nick’s office with him or out chasing leads. The usual. ” Realizing that’s not too different from how her life usually goes, she shrugs and groans when she sees her soot-laden hands. Piper sighs to herself. She’d been looking forward to meeting Snake again for ages and now that they’re together, they’re talking about nothing but work. To add to that, she looks like she’s just had a terrible accident in the kitchen. “Holy crap, I don’t think I’m ever gonna get this out no matter how hard I scrub myself.”

Snake suddenly grabs hold of her wrist, startling her. “Do you wanna take a shower? We can talk over your findings over dinner.”

“Of course I do.” Piper says the obvious. “Do you have any idea how much they charge for those though?”

She grins widely. “I know a place...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guys see where this is going? 'Shower'. Lol. 
> 
> As usual, let me know what you think in the comments! I've been sick for a week but at least that gave me time to write.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... we start to foray into M rated territory in this chapter, so just a heads up! Feel free to tell me if I'm making any mistakes because I know I'm adding a lot of details that aren't in the game and I'm SUPER loopy on cold medicine right now.
> 
> edit: I'M SO FUCKING STUPID. Sorry it took so long but I uploaded the draft during the weekend and then forgot to actually post this AFTER I accidentally almost uploaded my law paper here. I'm very smart.
> 
> EDIT AGAIN: So I actually did post it but it was a draft that was totally not ready for readers, then saved the edited one as a draft. I swear I'm not usually this terrible. For this reason, I deleted the original "draft" Chapter 12 and replaced it with the ready version with the mistakes, awkward descriptions and choppy dialogue (hopefully) smoothed over.

“Hey, Overseer. Can we borrow your shower?” Snake almost stuns even herself at the casualness of her question. All the eyes in the room are fixed on them. She’s painfully aware of the trail of splinters she’s leaving behind her and Dogmeat barks happily as if he’s not completely covered in layers of soot and dirt.

“Nice to see you again so soon.” Gwen gives the three of them a careful look, although not a distasteful one. Her tired eyes and wrinkled vault suit makes it clear that they interrupted her much needed beauty sleep. “To answer your question, of course you can. It’s the least we could do after what you did for little Austin. Um, had a rough day?”

The fellow vault dweller smiles enigmatically. “As rough as it usually is out there.”

“I’ll show you over to the ladies’ shower room. I don’t think you’ve been there before.” Overseer McNamara doesn’t even bother questioning her, to Piper's surprise. “Unfortunately, our showers turn off at midnight when we begin purifying water for the next day, so keep that in mind. Will you be taking the dog too?”

“Oh, I’ll just need a bucket of water and some soap for him.” Snake guiltily pets the dog on his head as he cocks his head to the side and whines whimsically. “Sorry, boy, but you’ve gotta stay here. I know you missed Erin and Austin but I can’t have you licking their faces when you’re this dirty.”

Dogmeat huffs in disappointment, lying down obediently.

“You should know that you are welcome to stay the night here, but we haven’t prepared the necessary accomodations for your friend.” Gwen smiles apologetically.

“What in rom-com hell? Again?” Snake mutters too quicky and quietly for the Overseer to hear. “It’s all good, Overseer. That won’t be a problem.”

“Blue, did you ask her for the thing?” Piper whispers to her hopefully.

She nods confidently. “Also, my friend here would kill me if I didn’t ask you if you were free for that interview tomorrow morning.”

“Of course, she can see me in my office after breakfast hours.” Gwen glows, nodding excitedly. Despite the state the reporter’s in, she makes her way to her and extends her hand amicably. “Gwen McNamara, Overseer of Vault 81. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Piper Wright.” She takes her hand and shakes it, although not too hard to avoid smearing her with too much soot. “Pleasure to meet you as well, Overseer.”

“Any friend of Miss Snake’s is a friend of mine.” Gwen still speaks her name with no small amount of skepticism, but she’s learned to trust her after the fiasco that happened a while ago.

It’s fairly interesting to see Piper gawk at the mechanism of the doors, the pristine floors and the lab where Priscilla is growing her fresh plants. She jots down notes quickly despite the darkness smeared across it from the soot still sticking to her hands. While it seems that the children are sleeping, Ashes gingerly circles their feet, asking for a few pets. It breaks Snake’s heart to have to ignore the feline. Despite it’s name, the veteran would really not have her live up to it and dirty everything she rubs up against.

“It’s right through here.” Gwen leads them to the door. “There are towels and the like inside, and because you’re a special guest, if you leave your dirty clothes in the hamper I’ll have someone get them clean and dry tomorrow.”

“You’re a lifesaver.” Snake thanks her happily.

“Any time, friend.” Gwen heads away, yawning tiredly. “Good night.”

“Holy shit, a real shower. Finally.” Snake grins as she pushes the button that opens the doors. They slide open smoothly to show a room that’s significantly smaller than she thought it would be. The room is partitioned into one side where two shower heads protrude from the walls with another set of two on the opposite wall.

It’s clearly designed that way so that four can shower at the same time without looking at each other, but it's so tiny that doesn't really help. It might be bad design or just a necessity to save space, but Snake wouldn't know. It wouldn’t be so bad except that there are no partitions whatsoever.

“Wow, uh, the people inside the vaults must really not care about privacy.” Piper observes, after seeing Snake eye the area as well.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m betting a bunch of girls have had a lot of fun in here.” Snake jokes, looking at her pip boy. It's seventeen minutes to midnight. Somehow she thinks that's not enough time for both of them to wash all of this off separately.

“Speaking from experience? I bet army showers were just like this.” She sheds her coat nervously. 

Snake tosses her clothes in the hamper, sighing as the weight leaves her body. “The truth is a lot less saucy. No, I’d already been dating my late wife since I was eighteen, but I’ve had offers.”

“I bet you did.” She comments, although taking much longer than necessary to get her pants off.

“You should get undressed and shower before they turn the water off. I won’t sneak a peek, I promise.” The reporter can hear the smile in her voice as she pats her in the back and makes her way to the showers. “Soldier’s honor. Though that didn’t really mean a lot if you looked at how some other guys in my team behaved, but I just considered it more combat practice for me." Nothing comes out of her mouth after the hot water starts pouring and begins to wash the grime off her skin. She sighs in pleasure, a sound that makes Piper hurry to shed her clothes if only to occupy her mind from the less innocent thoughts that were starting to take root.

Piper averts her eyes from the other woman’s body, shivering as she throws her bra into the hamper and misses. She peels off her underwear, thankful that the other woman is keeping her word by pointing her eyes forward at the wall. The jets of water are cold at first but it quickly warms up and leaves her promising to herself she’ll get a tub into her office soon. “Perfect gentlewoman or good bad girl?” She wonders out loud. “There are many interpretations of that sentence.”

“A headache of monumental proportions, if you’re asking my higher-ups. There’s a reason why I never made it into a command position, although part of it was because I turned it down. I’m old fashioned that way, better being on the ground than choking myself with a super tight suit collar somewhere.” Snake says after what feels like forever, the sound of falling water like music to their ears. The steam thickens inside the room and soon she’s having trouble even seeing the little scuff marks on the wall in front of her. She smirks. “Being in power’s a good way to take the fight out of a soldier and putting the pounds on the scale. I didn’t trust the rest of my team to behave without me, anyway.”

“So you do care about how you look naked. Here I thought you were just born looking like a snack. Or, I don’t know, a female Achilles.” Piper pumps the shampoo dispenser conveniently located on the wall beside her. The soap is purple and smells of something vaguely floral and artificial, but it’s much better than anything she’s ever used outside.

“I’m going to take that as a compliment, but wait... a copy of the Iliad survived into the apocalypse?” She asks in awe as she begins to lather the shampoo into her hair.

Piper rolls her shoulders, stretching and letting out a small groan as she relieves it of the tension. “Yeah, I found one in the library. I didn’t peg you for a poetry girl, Blue. Was it famous before the war?”

“Very. It was probably written like two thousand years ago. I think. Don’t quote me on that, I failed history in high school. Now that you mention it, I kind of failed literature class too. That book was the only one I read from start to finish.” She pumps her soap dispenser but gives up after she comes up empty. She slicks her hair back with the water, opening her mouth and closing it again. Fortunately, the ambient noise of the water’s descent fills the silence while she comes up with the courage to ask her question. “What did you think about it?”

“It was interesting to read about how one man’s inaction led to the deaths of so many people when it would’ve been so easy for him to fight and save them. He was Greece’s hero, after all. Their mightiest warrior.” Piper’s answer is an easy one, and her voice carries her awe effectively just like it always does when she talks about the few pre-war books that survived into this era. “The strong have a responsibility to protect the weak. It’s what he should have done.”

“Mhm. Sometimes I think about what would have happened to Achilles if he fought instead. Maybe the story wouldn't have been a tragedy, hm? ” Her turned back prevents the wry smile on her face from revealing itself to the woman behind her. She quickly changes the subject. “Mind if I get some soap from you? Mine’s all out.”

Piper absentmindedly looks back to see that the soap dispenser on the vault dweller’s side of the wall is indeed empty. Coincidentally, she also sees her washing the shampoo out of her hair. The brown locks are swept over her shoulders as she runs her fingers through it to rid herself of the suds, the water tracing the outline of her shapely back as gravity brings it down. Piper’s eyes follow it’s path as it clings to her skin from the curve between her shoulder blades to the dip of her lower back, a lump forming in her throat as her gaze falls onto the curvature of her butt. The reporter doesn’t even realize that she’s stopped scrubbing herself in favor of letting her gaze linger a bit longer, appreciating the incline leading to the lean thighs and calves that follow suit.

Snake turns her head far enough to see what’s taking her so long to answer. She gives her a smug look when she sees where Piper’s eyes are. “Hey, Peeping Piper. I don’t mind you having fun back there but I’d like to not smell like a burnt down kitchen when I step out of here.”

Her gaze immediately snaps upwards to meet the greatly amused eyes of her companion. “Uh, yeah, go ahead. Sorry. I was just... I wasn’t-” _Just staring at your ass?_  They both know she was _._ After a second of full on stammering, she can only give her a very strained and very embarrassed smile. “Yeah... sorry.”

The laugh Snake replies with comes with the adoring look she’s taken to reserving only for the brief breaks she gets to have, where she’s free to wonder what the reporter is up to, what story she’s chasing, if she’s thinking about her too in the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth or beyond. She fully turns to face her, not minding her nakedness as she steps closer. Piper eyes seem to have trouble deciding where to look. While she tries to keep her stare where it’s respectable, they fall to the curve of her bust and she swallows thickly as she watches them rise and fall with the woman’s breaths. Try as she might to keep calm but her arousal surges at the glimpse of Snake’s glistening abdomen, how the water emphasizes the lines of her sculpted figure. While she’s seen that before, Piper’s never had the chance to catch a peek at whatever’s below her waist until now. The veteran’s packed with enough muscle that her hip bones form a triangular shape that points right towards her sex and the brief glimpse she gets makes her direct her eyes away and hold her legs closer together, hoping the other woman won’t spy the wetness gathered between them or at least just mistake it for water.

“You’ve been on my mind every single day for the past two weeks, you know that?” Snake stops directly in front of her, so close that their breasts almost touch. She tilts her chin up gently, looking right into the green eyes that were just startled out of the little show they were made privy to. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Blue.” Her admittance comes low and breathy as she finally decides to drop her arms. Finally holding the woman she’s been longing to see in her arms definitely takes priority over covering herself, and when she feels her hold her back, it feels like having a cigarette for the first time in days. She feels Snake exhale a sigh of a relief into her shoulder, her breath hotter than the water falling onto and around them. “I didn’t think you’d actually write to me. Finally, fan mail that’s actually sweet and encouraging instead of creepy and super rude.”

“I’m not done surprising you yet.” The pad of Snake’s thumb lightly strokes her cheek. Her eyes soften as she closes the distance between them. Her voice reduces itself into a husky whisper as she puts her hand on the wall. “I’m your biggest fan, after all.”

Piper closes her eyes, readying herself for a kiss that doesn’t come. She waits a second, but the only difference she notices is that now she can hear the noise of light scrubbing and a hum that follows the tune of ‘Atom Bomb Baby’. She opens her eyes to see Snake’s back turned once more as she cleans herself to the little song.

“What are you making that face for? I was just getting soap.” The veteran looks back, an insufferable teasing grin on her face. “God, you’d think a girl could wash herself in peace without getting ogled at for a sec.”

The reporter crosses her arms, very much not amused. “You are absolutely horrible, you know that?”

“I’d believe it if you could keep your eyes up here.”

“Shut up.” Piper pouts, pointing her finger accusingly at her. “You’re the one who’s been eyeing my boobs every time I give you a chance, don’t think I haven’t noticed that. Hell, you’re doing it right now!”

“This is not the conversation I expected we’d be having tonight.” Snake skillfully deflects, although she does have a point.

“Well, I don’t wanna talk about _that_ right now.” Piper sighs as she tells her honestly. “I haven’t seen you in so long and I just.. I just want to...”

Snake doesn’t need to ask this question but she does anyway. “Want to what?”

Piper doesn’t give her a verbal answer. She locks her lips to hers like magnets joined together. The bulletproof vest that’s been on Snake’s body at all times since it’s been unearthed lies in the corner of the room and the troublesome belt is put aside as well, giving Piper’s hands no hindrance from roaming past it’s usual boundaries. Her palm creeps lower to find the firm swell of her ass and she squeezes it lightly, delighting in the little squeak Snake lets out.

“How long have you wanted to do that?” Snake asks between their heated kisses. Their soaped up bodies create effortless friction against each other, effectively fanning the heat growing between them.

“Oh, a while.” Piper refuses to give her a proper answer for that question, letting herself get cornered against the wall by the vault dweller’s ravishing hands. She allows them to gently cup and fondle her breasts, while the sight of Snake licking her lips hungrily sends a shiver that runs down her spine and straight towards the area between her thighs where the veteran’s eyes have been lingering.

“I can see that.” She smirks, at last noticing that whatever that has collected there is far too glossy and thick to be water.

Piper’s cheeks redden at her observation and she closes her legs a bit to hide her embarrassment. The water has stopped falling, signifying that midnight has arrived. The steam in the room thins, obviously aiding Snake’s vision to reach that discovery, and all she can hear is her own heavy breathing as the vault dweller places a lazy kiss to the side of her neck. Her height gradually decreases as she makes her journey downwards as excruciatingly slow as can possibly be, lips grazing her collarbone and eventually the peak of one perky breast.

Snake definitely lets Piper see the proud grin on her face when she hears her gasp with anticipation as her tongue darts out to acquire a small taste. The circular zone of flesh wakes under the touch but her mouth moves to traverse lower in it’s growing haste to reach it’s final destination. The reporter can’t decide if the lips dragging down her stomach onto her hip feels too hot or cold or both but she does eventually spread her legs as if it’ll quicken the maddeningly frustrating descent.

The brunette finally falls down to her knees where she can see her drenched arousal much more clearly.  “And here I thought I was the one who missed you the most.” She teases her, placing a lingering kiss on the inside of her thigh, the sweet musk skyrocketing her lust like never before. She wets her lips in preparation for what comes next. 

“Blue, come on. ” Piper squirms, her hand entwining in the drying brown tresses although she doesn’t find it in her to bring her face towards where she needs her mouth the most.

She finally closes in. Piper bites her lip as she feels her breath on her core, only to be startled by a loud beep. The veteran looks at the direction of the door with a look of utter annoyance on her face. “This has got to be a joke.” She mutters, before hollering out loud. “Busy! Try again later!”

“Are you kids in there again?” A frustrated voice calls from outside. “You’ve got your own rooms you know, I’ll never understand why you insist on doing _that_ there. Get out so I can clean it and go to bed already! You have thirty seconds before I open this door.”

Snake's eye twitches in the purest form of irritation. “Little whippersnapper, I’ve been asleep longer than you and your grandparents have been alive put together.” 

"Please don't say that when your mouth is this close to my-" 

"You have five seconds!"

They scramble to the towel rack and the door flies open just after they both manage to make themselves somewhat decent. The owner of the mysterious voice brings a mop and her face is lined with age and fatigue. The angry look immediately turns into one of surprise when she sees who’s inside. “Oh Lord, I’m so sorry! I thought you were those youngsters again, I didn’t think-”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Snake raises her hand and speaks calmly, although Piper can still hear the annoyance in her voice. “Just be glad you didn’t see anything you didn’t want to see.”

“I do so deeply apologize, I went looking for you in your room but you weren’t there so I assumed you must’ve been out somewhere.” The janitor looks down, not daring to meet her eyes. “I brought dinner and cleaned your dog.”

“Oh... Thanks a lot. You didn’t need to do all that, you know?” The signs of frustration disappears from her face. She can’t believe she was going to get into a hissy fit with some middle aged vault dweller who was just unfortunate enough to have cleaning duty tonight. “Sorry for, uh, occupying the bathroom for too long.”

“Don’t be sorry, I’ll have your clothes cleaned by the time you’re ready to leave. I left some robes on the bed.”

When the door closes and they’re left staring at the door, Piper is the first to say something. “That was super weird. Why are these people so nice to you?” She looks around to make sure no one is around to hear her next words. “The people from 81 aren’t known for being friendly to outsiders.”

“It’s not much of a big deal, really. I just saved a kitten from a rampaging horde of super mutants, broke into a teenager’s room to save him from overdosing on jet and went into some secret part of the vault where I played the most fucked up game of whack-a-mole to get a life-saving cure for this kid.” Snake tells her, knowing that nothing can surprise them anymore at this point. “That’s pretty much the story behind why these people would give me a human sacrifice if I asked, although I keep telling them not to make it weird.”

“I wish I could’ve been here for that.” Piper holds onto her towel tightly as they walk down the darkened halls.

“And what did you do while I was gone? Any outlandish adventures?” Snake presses a button on the door that opens the door to a pristine room that smells of freshly washed sheets.

It’s cleaner than any room Piper has seen in her entire life. She can’t recall ever touching sheets this white, or walking on a floor so clean that she feels like walking on it should be outlawed. “Finding out that Kellogg bought a house in Diamond City a few months ago under an alias. It involved a lot of breaking and entering, lock picking, and the general cloak and dagger activities. Interestingly, no one has seen him in town and the house shows no sign of anyone entering and exiting for months-”

“Was Shaun with him?” Snake interrupts her in the middle of putting on her bathrobe.

Piper fastens her robe, sitting on the bed and thinking deeply. “I... there had been been sightings of a mysterious little boy around town.”

“That has to be him.” She hastily concludes, pacing around the room. “Do you know where Kellogg went?” 

“That’s what me and Nick are still trying to piece together.” Piper narrows her eyes suspiciously. “Blue, something is super not right here. There are so many parts that aren’t fitting together, like what he actually does and why.”

“Is that why you were at that settlement?” Snake tries to calm herself, managing to keep her voice at an appropriate volume although her trigger finger has started itching like it hasn’t in years.

“Kind of.” Is her very unhelpful answer. Although her body is clean, she doesn’t think there’s anything she can do for her mind after today. She looks down, grasping the sheets firmly in a fist. “Blue, what we saw today... I’ve seen it before.”

Seeing the reporter avoid her gaze, Snake sits herself next to her. She puts her hand on her shoulder, careful to keep it from twitching as she thinks about the bullet she’s going to put in the mercenary’s head. “Where?” Comes her question, her voice much more temperate than her heart.

“God, it’s been years. I was wondering if I was imagining it or if it was all some huge flashback or...” She stops herself from rambling, biting her lip when she finally blurts out her point. “Almost ten years ago when the settlement me and Nat lived in was destroyed, it was him, Blue. It was Kellogg or someone who’s working with him, I’m sure it was.”

“What?” Snake clenches her fists, her teeth grit as she tells her the only thing she can. “Are you sure?”

“This is driving me crazy because every time I sit down with Nick I’m finding more and more possible cases of him doing things and I don’t know if it’s really him or I just want it to be him but Nick sees the patterns too, and I’ve spent two _weeks_ meeting my informants and rummaging in ghost towns.” Her voice gets louder with ever word she speaks. The lack of any extravagant hand gestures as she continues her rambling is one clue that raises the vault dweller’s worry. “I’ve turned my office upside down, but the only evidence I can find that matches is they _all_ have _no_ evidence because he’s so _fucking_ good-”

“Hey, come here.” Snake moves in swiftly to hold her, cradling her head and wrapping her arm around her waist. She can smell the scent of the shampoo on her still slightly wet hair as the younger woman buries her face in her collarbone. “You want revenge, don’t you? You want to look him in the eye, press your gun to his forehead, and hope he looks at you and knows this is the end for him. You want your bullet to send him to hell.”

Piper nods, unable to say a word as she just focuses on counting the vault dweller's heartbeats to calm herself. It doesn't work just because they're too wild to even be considered a resting heart rate.

“You’re not wrong for feeling that way. I want to kill him too, for revenge, but also because someone has to stop him.” She squeezes her hand reassuringly. “I won’t tell you not to go after him, Piper, just like you won’t tell me to forget about it and move on. That’s just who we are, hm? You’ll get your revenge and I’ll get mine. If you find out where he is, I’ll go after him. No delays. This has to end now.”

“Blue, I told you, something is seriously not right here.” Piper grasps the material of her bathrobe in her hand, straining to figure what it is out. “I agree we have to stop him as soon as possible but I’m not sending  _us_ into a death trap. That's right, there's no way I'm letting you do this alone. Plus, both me and Nick have no idea where he is right now.”

“I believe that you’ll figure it out and that you'll find a way for us to sucker punch that bastard right in his balls.” Her face is troubled but her voice is sure. There’s no hesitation in her words. “You saw what happened today. He’s still out there, and we both know he’s going to do this again. It’s not a matter of ‘if’, it’s a matter of ‘when’, and I’m not going to just stand here and wait for a disaster to happen again.”

 _Even if it kills me._ Those are the words she left unspoken but they both know that’s how the sentence was supposed to end.

Piper knows that this woman is the only one who might have a chance at beating him. “I know you’re right.” She says it like there’s a lump in her throat. She has nothing to refute her words, or at least nothing that wouldn’t make her a hypocrite of astronomical levels. She did sign up for this when she first kissed her, she always knew the day would come where they’d have to face him. 

They don't belong to each other, but to the ideals that guide them both. It just so happens that they align.

The mysterious man took everything from her once. No amount of Diamond City pleasures can make her forget about the little settlement in the middle of nowhere that burned to the ground or how she fought off ferals and mongrels that circled around her and her little sister, expecting an easy meal. Nothing can compare to the days under the arid sun she spent scrounging for caps to put fat on her sister’s ribs, or the sleepless nights that followed after she first killed.

“Tell me everything.” Snake’s eyes are determined. She looks so sure that she’ll get out of it alive but nothing Kellogg touches lives.

Piper just doesn’t know if she can let him take this woman from her. After all, she’s only had her for so long.

On the little hill where Vault 111 stills sits to this day, smoke rises into the air. Conrad Kellogg counts the number of the graves on the ground again just to make sure he’s not going senile. The possibility is off the table, but he was never a careless man. He smiles and takes a last puff from his cigar, putting it out on the carved wood that serves as an adequate replacement for a gravestone.

He’s sure Nora wouldn’t mind. After all, she’s dead. It just seems that someone else isn't. He looks down into the budding settlement not far away, the lights shining like a beacon of hope.

“Interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It sucks that they didn't get to do the do but it's coming, I promise.  
> As usual, let me know what you think in the comments! I hope I'm doing a decent job at making Kellogg a worthy villain :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo... sorry about that thing that happened with the last chapter. If y'all read it before I fixed it and didn't see the note at the beginning, I'll explain what you missed. Basically, I was a genius and posted a draft of the chapter instead of the finished one and that meant a lot of general awkwardness in what got posted. It's fixed now but sorry anyone had to see that lmao
> 
> As usual, leave a comment if you're still reading and pleeeeease tell me if I make another mistake like last time :)

As with any usual Thursday morning, Natalie Wright waves back and closes the door harder than she should have. She walks to school at a normal pace, taking her normal route and stopping by the market to get a snack to munch on in class. She begins to eat it as soon as she gives Polly her caps, too busy ignoring that whatever she’s eating is probably a day or two past it’s expiry date to pay attention to what’s in front of her. She hits something with a resounding smack, bouncing back before the man she ran into puts his hands on her shoulder.

“Easy there. Wouldn’t want to drop your breakfast.” He has a head of neatly combed black hair, as black as the solid aviators sitting on his nose. There’s something about his smile, though, something that strikes her as extremely odd.

“Sorry. I’m late for school.” Nat apologizes and squirms out of his hands although there’s nothing threatening about him. She supposes that’s what’s so odd, the smile looks like a natural part of his face, something that’s always there no matter what’s going on in his thoughts or his heart. It’s almost as if his entire face is an otherworldly mask, unaffected by any mortal issue around him.

The smile stays on his face as he watches her go farther. She rushes past, looking back as she walks away to check that she’s not being followed. “Good senses, kid. You’re definitely related to your sister.” With that, he saunters casually with his hand in his pockets past the usual guards and vendors, weaving through the crowd like water flows through cracks. He stops when he reaches the door of Publick Occurrences, knocking firmly twice.

It doesn’t take longer than a few seconds for Piper to open the door. They don’t talk until after he closes the door behind him and locks it, turning the knob and pulling it once more just to make sure it’s still working right.

“Your sister’s gotten bigger again, Piper. She’s starting to have your cheekbones. Looks like she’s starting to pick up on your senses as well.” He tells her candidly, noticing the reservation on her face. “I’m betting she likes to get into trouble, just like you.”

“Oh, she’s started although she thinks I don’t know.” Piper finds it unusually hard to conceal the reservation in her words. A night of troubled sleep does that. She doesn’t think Snake knows, but she heard her sharpening her knife and taking her gun apart and putting it together again for hours and hours last night. The veteran didn’t even bother kissing her goodnight or throwing an arm around her in her sleep. “Really, Deacon? She just learned to shoot so I’m just warning you, she might just hurt you if you keep following her. Three times in the last month is a bit much.”

“No harm done, Piper, I watch everyone. She’s got to learn to do the same if she’s going to be your sister. And since it looks like she’s noticed me, it looks like she’s well on her way to becoming Piper V.2.” He stops and looks at the stairwell, noticing a woman he’s never seen before leaning against it. Her eyes are sharp and focused as she checks the slide of her pistol, a serious looking rifle perched by her. His smile falters for a second. He doubts that he’s getting rusty but he should’ve noticed a woman that dangerous looking the second he stepped in. Eyes like that don’t belong to a hapless civilian. “You didn’t tell me we’d have a guest joining us today. A really well armed guest, I might add.”

“Aw, you don’t mind me joining your little tea party, don’t you?” Snake pushes herself off the wall and puts the pistol back on her hip, slinging the rifle onto her body. She walks to Piper’s side silently. While there seems to be no intimidating intent to her jest, it alarms him nonetheless.

He’d be either falling over with that much weight on his body or at the very least be walking like a newborn radstag. He gives her his usual smile, aware that she can’t see his eyes squinting suspiciously through his sunglasses.

“Ease up, you. Save it for Kellogg. Poor Deacon here looks like he’s going to pee himself.” Piper tells her, and she seems to heed her words and shut up. The reporter turns her attention to him. “Deacon, I present you with the woman who’s going to put Kellogg in the ground.”

Now that statement takes him aback. He hears the waver in her sentence although the woman beside her seems to be too caught up in her angry scowl to notice. “That’s a big claim to make. The thing is I know you’re not all talk, but I hope she knows you may as well be signing her death warrant by sending her after him.”

“I don’t care if you think I can’t take him down, but let me just tell you that everyone who bets against me being alive at the end of the day winds up giving all their pay over by the time they leave the table.” She boldly announces.

Deacon notices that Piper’s eyes are downcast and she doesn’t leave a remark in response to that. Quite strange for the woman who has something to say about everything.  _Fascinating_. “I don’t want to be ‘that guy’, Piper, but I hope you know what will happen if Kellogg catches wind that you’re after him. You’re a slippery one but he’s been known to target everyone around his enemies.” 

“I know that, Deacon, I-... _we_ just can’t let him get away with more.” She replies, her words blunt. “Just tell us everything you have on him. You know I’ll keep my word and hold up my end of the bargain.”

He looks at them for a while, his expression unchanging. The woman beside his occasional colleague doesn’t show even a hint of perturbation even after what he’s said about the man. _No loved ones, then?_ He thinks to himself. “Kellogg is what you’d call his own man. He’s been affiliated with Gunners, gunned them down, been gunned down, got up angrier.”

“And you know this how?” Snake asks him, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“I don’t.” Deacon answers, not letting the twitch in her eye shatter his unaffected grin. “The man is so good at his job that the only thing he leaves behind is a trail of bodies. How do you find him, you ask? Follow the patterns. No evidence is the evidence you need to know he’s involved.”

“What stellar information you have, I want a refund.” Snake looks at Piper questioningly. It doesn’t seem that he’s going to tell them anything more than what they already know.

“I’m going to be completely straight with you. You don’t want to mess with this guy. You don’t find him, he finds you.” He frowns, wishing there was anything more he could say. Both he and Piper knows they can’t wag their tongues too freely with this unknown woman with them but he feels the need to warn her all the same. “We both know you’re a hell of an investigator, but this might just be _way_ too big to chew for you. No offense intended, Piper, but I doubt that anyone’s got big enough molars to grind this one up.”

“I’ll see you around, then. Just like I always do.” Piper opens the door, stepping aside to make room for his departure.

“Nothing escapes your eye, huh? As usual.” Deacon nods as he steps out. He knows she won’t heed his advice but he makes sure to wish her his version of ‘good luck’ anyway. “I hope this isn’t the last time we talk.”

The reporter locks the door when he leaves, sighing despondently. “Damn it, I was hoping that he would have something other than advice I’m not going to follow.”

“That’s one shady friend you’ve got, Piper.” Snake offhandedly mentions.

“Deacon and I aren’t exactly friends...” She struggles to find the appropriate words to describe them, all the while contemplating his words. _Nat, a second me_. What a terrifying thought. “We’re more like purely professional acquaintances who occasionally trade information for favors or more information.”

Snake sighs, slinging her bag over her shoulder. What a disappointment. “It was really nice seeing you, Piper, but I guess we both have our jobs cut out for us.” She leans in for a kiss goodbye, stopping when the shorter woman doesn’t make a move to reciprocate.

Piper can’t ask her to stay. Her mind buzzes with too many thoughts like static on a broken television’s screen. “Yeah. Since he’s targeting growing settlements, it would probably be best if you stay back to keep Sanctuary safe. I’ll head out there if I find anything new.”

The veteran stays back respectfully. “You’re a good sister, Piper. If Nat grows up to be like you, that’s one more good thing you’ll be bringing into the world. It’ll be for the good of everyone in the Commonwealth.”

_Except for Nat_ _herself_. She spends half her time either pumped full of adrenaline and getting way too acquainted with her gun, and the other half dying of exhaustion and relying on caffeine to stay standing. A fair amount of her time is spent borderline hallucinating from exhaustion alone. It’s not a life most would describe as ideal. “I’m glad you think so highly of me.” She nonetheless replies.

“C’mon, Piper.” Snake looks back one more time before she heads out. “It’s time to be a hero.”

The reporter doesn’t even have time to reply before she leaves. When the door closes, she looks back to the mess that’s her office and walks back to her desk, resuming her work. There’s still piles of bad news waiting for her to sift through but something tells her she’s not going to find anything more here. “Stop calling me that, Blue. It’s time for _you_ to be a hero.”

It’s time to take one step back and retrace her steps. There’s no way for her or anyone to predict where Kellogg could be. She and Nick have tried that unsuccessfully for the last two weeks. In order know that, she’ll have to know who his employers are and that’s not going to be easy. All she knows is he’s targeting growing settlements to strip them of resources but he doesn’t go after just any resources, he’s going after metal, circuits, and other mechanical things. _What could require him to hoard that much stuff?_

Piper lights a cigarette, resuming her thoughts. _What is he building that his employers have been scouring the Commonwealth for them for years and years? Why does Kellogg have a house in Diamond City that’s just sitting empty?_   Hell, she took a real chance breaking into it a few days ago and all she can find inside his ‘secret’ room is cartons of cigars and ammo covered in layers of dust. It’s clearly a safe house of some sort, albeit a rarely used one. The reporter definitely knows how expensive it is to get a house here, it makes no sense for him to just let it sit there building up maintenance fees and taxes. Besides, everyone who settles in Diamond City needs to have their background extensively checked, as the policy made by the previous mayor dictates.

One thought has been stewing in the back of her head for a while. _What do I know about Mayor McDonough, the one who has the most say in everything that goes on in Diamond City?_ He’s an Institute synth. He was elected just months after she moved here, after which they’ve been making each other’s lives absolute hell on Earth. He also tried to unsuccessfully evict her a couple of times, asserting that it would be more profitable to rent out the space as a store.

That means the city is basically under Institute control, which she’s figured out already, but the latter conclusion is something that requires her to say out loud to know if it’s as outlandish as it sounds in her head. She’s not sure if she didn’t notice this before due to the debilitating fatigue from trying to find any scrap of clue to lead her to Kellogg or if it’s just time for her to take a twelve hour nap already.

Mayor McDonough in an Institute synth and he’s losing profits by keeping the house for Kellogg instead of selling it to someone else. Mayor McDonough is helping Kellogg, even if it goes against his favorite thing ever, which is profit. Mayor McDonough is an Institute synth. There’s only one reason why an Institute synth would help Kellogg.

“Kellogg is working for the Institute.” It doesn’t sound any less ridiculous when she says it out loud but it’s the only conclusion that makes sense.

And the reason why they’re hoarding so many mechanical parts is to make synths.

Kellogg scrapped the settlement her parents worked so hard on and left them without a home for the Institute. Of course, Nick is right and it’s super weird that the Institute would hire a mercenary instead of using their coursers but this is the only thing that at least makes _some_ sort of sense.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” Piper stands up so quickly that her chair falls over but she doesn’t care enough to fix it before she begins packing her bags. She scrambles around the house, throwing the pantry door open and stuffing whatever food she can inside, throwing in her half empty pack of smokes with it too.

Nat drops her worn backpack down by the door as she enters, staring at her sister’s wild scuffle. “Hey, Piper.” She hesitantly greets.

“Hey.” The reporter doesn’t even look at her as she continues jamming boxes of ammo inside her bag. She doesn’t even ask why her sister is home even though it’s nowhere near time for her to be dismissed from class yet.

“Are you leaving again?” Nat knows her answer will be yes, but pouts pitifully in a desperate attempt to make her stay. “I haven’t seen you in forever, you’re either out or at your desk buried in a mountain of paper.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but I have something really important to do.” Piper feels her chest ache at her curt response. She checks to make sure her pistol is loaded, then gets the submachine gun that Snake got her a few weeks ago from the safe under her desk.

“Are you out fighting bad guys again?” She asks, just to prolong their conversation. The girl twiddles her fingers, lowering her voice. “I came back on my snack break to hang out with you...”

Piper can’t believe she’s letting the younger Wright see her march out of the house with two guns strapped to her body. She usually hides her pistol inside her coat just so she wouldn’t have to see it and put together that her sister is heading out to potentially _kill_ people. She puts a hand on her shoulder, but even then the touch is light and uncertain. “Nat, I’m really sorry that I haven’t been around and that I’m leaving again.” She lowers her voice, bringing her face closer to her sister’s. The girl’s eyes look smaller than they usually do, but that's just her face and the rest of her growing to accommodate the big brown eyes. “I really need you to stay out of trouble, okay?”

She begins to protest immediately. “But Piper, you said-”

“I know what I said. I told you to make trouble and do what’s right, even if people don’t like it, but I was wrong, okay? I want you to be safe, Nat. Like everyone your age should be.” Her heart nearly shatters at her look of utter befuddlement and distress. She strokes the cheek of the girl, her voice softening. She knows exactly what she’s thinking just because she was just like that at her age too. “I know I got into all sorts of trouble when I was your age but I did that so _you_ wouldn’t have to. I want you to please believe me when I say I’m doing this for your own good because I’ve loved you more than anything else since I first saw you wrapped up in that blanket the day you were born.” Piper smiles tenderly. “And you know my ‘I love you’ is special because you’re the only one who gets to hear it, so stay safe, okay? I want to keep coming home to you every day until you get sick of me.”

“I’ll never get sick of you, Piper.” Nat lets her sister have the last word on this one. She’s never been patient but she knows when to pick her battles, and the frantic look in Piper’s eyes tells her this isn’t the time. “Y’know, except when you spend hours deciding which scarf to get at auntie Fallon’s...”

“Hey, you gotta admit that I really got a bargain on my last trip.” She quickly says and lifts her foot to step away before she hears these next words.

“...Can I get a new pencilcase?”

Piper is too ready to bolt out of Diamond City but it’s unusual for Nat to lose things. “Of course, I left you some caps on your desk. What happened to your old one?”

“Well, I know this is kind of weird but there was this boy who was visiting with his uncle a while ago. We played hide and seek and colored together, then I lent him my pencilcase because he said he didn’t have crayons.” Nat smiles nervously. “So yeah, I also don’t have my crayons now because he left and never came back...”

The reporter’s eyes widen in apprehension. “What was his name?”

“Shaun.” Nat answers, shrinking when she sees the dropping jaw signifying the massive alarm going off in her sister's head. “Why?”

“How old is he? Did he mention anything about his uncle? Do you know where he went?” Piper fires out her questions almost faster than she come up with them them, grasping her sister’s shoulders tightly.

“Um... he looks a bit younger than me. I know he said he passed a marsh on the way here.” She vaguely recalls. “He just moved somewhere a few months ago over on the other side of the bridge that you have to cross to get to Mass Pike, remember that place? I think he said his uncle name was... darn it, it started with a K. Or a C.”

“Kellogg.” Piper disbelievingly says.

“And he said there were a lot of guns in his home. Like, a lot. And it had a lot of fences around it and a _really_ big basement.”

“You are the best sister ever.” Piper hastily pecks her on the forehead, her feet ready to fly. She looks back and yells out one command before she begins running. “Go to Nick’s and don’t let him take his eyes off you!”

Nat stares as her older sister hurries up the stairs, the young woman nearly tripping and falling on her face near the top after leaving the door to the Publick wide open behind her. The preteen looks at the submachine gun on her sister’s hip, knowing that’s what Piper has been hiding from her these past few weeks, and a sinking feeling takes root deep in her gut.

Something is very wrong.

Later that day, Snake reaches the same conclusion when she approaches the vicinity of the Red Rocket truck stop. Lonnie, one of the settlers she assigned to convert the place into a bar, lays on the ground with his eyes half closed. The contents of his head are splattered over the dry ground and drool leaks from the corner of his mouth. The day is hot but her blood turns cold when she sees the guards assigned to guard this place lying not far away in a similar condition.

She breaks into a sprint, her suspicions confirmed when she sees the bridge to Sanctuary standing no more. The water carries the wooden pieces away and blood paints the ground surrounding it a dastardly red. At the foot of the bridge is a man in a brown leather jacket.

Mama Murphy drags Preston back into safety with a strength no one that old could possibly have, leaving his prized rifle behind. He grips his shoulder as tightly as he can to stem the blood flow but the continuous spurts tells them he's going to need a tourniquet if he wants to keep that arm. As if sensing her presence, the man turns around to meet her.

His smile is as jagged as the scar that runs down his eye. He lifts his massive revolver high, looking nothing but pleased despite the bodies lying around him. While Snake’s face contorts with a blood-curling rage, this only stokes his pleasure.

Kellogg's voice is as bristly as it was when he stood over Nora’s corpse, chuckling over his newest paycheck. It's even more delighted, if such a thing is possible. “We meet again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared for a LOT to happen in the next few chapters! I can't wait to write this roller coaster.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter can be summarized by this one sentence: "Blue has a death wish and does stupid things." 
> 
> Updates from my life no one asked for: Finally, my visiting relatives are leaving tomorrow so I'll have time to write. I just got a new pull up bar and that makes me happy because my last one scuffed by door like crazy.

Snake can vaguely hear the sounds of the settlers warning her to move and hide, some begging to be saved and some cursing her for bringing them out here. She doesn’t see them or the bodies scattered around the bridge and neither does she notice the sentries on the towers scoping out the men trying to gain entry through one of their back entrances.

All she can see is the playful glint in the Kellogg’s eyes and the intrigued sound he makes at the back of his throat as he watches her.

“All of you, _shut the fuck up_!” Her voice bellows like thunder booming from her lungs. The echoing yell seems to catch the attention of everyone around them for a while, especially the men at Kellogg’s side. They look at him questioningly, waiting for an order that he doesn’t give. Snake points to him with her pointer finger, enunciating her words loudly and clearly so everyone can hear. “This son of a bitch is mine. Got that? Nobody goes near him but me.”

“Lower your voice, would you? We can talk normally like the professionals we are.” Kellogg shakes his head with disbelief, his gun still casually at his side.

“There is nothing professional about this.” Snake holds her ground but her feet are light, ready to move as she keeps mindful of the number of men he has at his side. They could start firing at her at any time.

“Your words are noble but those eyes you have belong to a murderer.” He gives her a guileful smirk. “I’d be willing to bet that if my men shot you right here and now, we’d all find out that your blood runs colder than a nuclear winter.”

Her words come out without her thinking. “They’re welcome to try.”

That’s all the encouragement he needs to give his men a nod, the signal they’ve been waiting for. Snake fires a burst into the group and guns one of them down before she rolls into cover, the ground where she stood filling with bullets right after. Hearing the approaching footsteps, she quietly slides her rifle under the car and unsheathes her knife.

It’s time to make one hell of a point.

Piper breathes heavily as she runs past the Red Rocket truck stop, sweat sticking her hair to her forehead. She removes her hat to fan herself with it, realizing that she’s definitely had one cigarette too many these past few weeks. She looks down to expect a growing settlement filled with men and women hard at work at building their new home, maybe toiling at the beginning of a decently sized farm, but the sight that greets her is the exact opposite of what she was hoping for.

Namely, it’s both the bodies littered around the ground like leftovers laid out for vultures and the man pointing his gun at her. Her already burning legs spring her to the side before he can fill her body with lead, and this gives Snake the window of opportunity she’s been waiting for.

A bullet his him right between the eyes before he can focus back on the threat hiding behind the car. His colleagues circle the hunk of junk, only to discover that she is nowhere to be seen. 

Snake shakes her head, giving Kellogg a disappointed look as she circles around the defunct vehicle. The veteran truly expected better of his men. She leaps up and catches the nearest man by the neck, pulling him back and thrusting her knife repeatedly into his back. His scream dies as the air escapes from his lungs through his wounds and his comrades are left oblivious of his demise.

The two leading men look back when they hear a gruesome crack just in time to see one of theirs falling to the ground, his neck craned into an sickening angle. Snake moves to the side and her knife thrusts into his stomach, tearing the blade out horizontally to gut him like a fish. She lands another bullet in the head of the man behind him before he can do the same to her.

Snake looks at the mercenary, thoroughly unimpressed. “Is that all you’ve got?”

“It wouldn’t be fair of me to not let you warm up.” Kellogg chuckles, right as she breaks out into a sprint. He shrugs nonchalantly, showcasing the array of corpses around him. “After all, I had plenty of that.”

The heavy timbre of his voice sends an ominous chill down Piper’s spine. Like everyone else stuck on the other side of that bridge, she can only watch as Snake accelerates headfirst into the fray. Kellogg’s men raise their guns, preparing to put her down in the middle of her mad dash across the clear stretch of empty space towards them.

“Don’t disappoint me like the others did. Either you leave this place when we collect every scrap from every half assed home in here or you don’t leave at all.” Kellogg orders, meaning every word he says.

His little henchman believes him too, except a bullet to the chest stops him before he can shoot her and his target wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger. His body falls breathlessly onto the ground. The mercenary scans his surroundings for the shooter, the red of Piper’s coat making her especially easy to spot among the dull colors of her surroundings. She stands there with her smoking gun, feet cemented into the ground and petrified by the force of Kellogg’s gaze alone.

“So you have made friends up here. She’s a good shot. Her target must’ve looked like the size of a pack of cigars from where she’s standing.” The next time he looks at the vault dweller, she has somehow closed the distance between herself and his men. “It’s too bad the two of you are in my way.”

“Shut your mouth, Kellogg!” She growls, while firing into the leg of one of his mercenaries and hitting him with a well angled hook to his jaw that sends him spinning. Snake presses her knife to his jugular when he groggily turns, close enough to draw the slightest hint of blood while using him as a shield against the onslaught of bullets. If he so much as gulps, it’ll be the end of him. They fire anyway, hoping that their shots will go through him and into her.

Of course Kellogg’s men would have no remorse. Piper tries to aim but her muscles are stiff and her hands are shaky. She curses to herself, trying to hit something anyway. Kellogg has already seen her and she’s not going to stand and watch Snake get pincushioned, but although her next shot hits, it’s not fatal.

 _What the hell are you doing?_ Snake is thankful for the quality armor the man is wearing. There is no way he survived taking that many shots but she’s still being pushed back by the force of the bullets that thankfully aren’t able to pierce through to get to her. She kicks him forward with all the force she can come up with when she hears them reloading, downing two men with her pistol before she throws her knife and rudely interrupts the man who’s pushing the dead body off him by slashing his throat open.

Kellogg frowns as he watches her retrieve her knife from the body. He raises his gun, finally deciding that she’s gotten close enough to him.

Snake digs her heels into the ground, swerving so hard in the other direction she feels her ankle almost pop. The miniature cannon in Kellogg’s hand rings out with a deafening boom but he seems unperturbed by the undoubtedly bone-shattering recoil the gun must have. The ground scrapes her cheek raw as she falls but she successfully avoids the bullet, scrambling to take cover behind a large rock before he can shoot again.

“Is it vengeance that you want? You of all people should know this is just business for people like us, I’m just trying to get my next paycheck here.” _Click._ He presses down the hammer of his revolver, ready to shoot again. “Sorry about the lady. Be thankful that she was pretty enough that I didn’t shoot her in the face instead.”

Snake feels a drop of blood trickle down her cheek as she tries to tune out his voice and find some other place to take cover. There’s the one dead tree to her left but it’s such an obvious move that he’ll definitely anticipate her doing that. Her eyes fall onto the corpse she kicked this way, just lying next to her. She kicks it away, hoping he’ll take the bait and shoot that instead. The body slumps away uselessly.

“Are you even trying to face me?” Kellogg cocks his head to the side, scoffing at that attempt. “Maybe you never really loved her after all, if this is all you can do for your revenge. Maybe you couldn’t hear much in that box you were in, but she begged for you to save her until the end.”

Yeah, she remembers. The sound of her wife’s pleading was drowned out by the sound of her own screams as she banged at the little window of her icy prison in a futile attempt to open it. Sometimes she thinks that Nora was so confident in trying to fight Kellogg because she believed she would break out of her cryo pod somehow and save her. The only sound that got through to her was the sound of his gun as he shot her dead. Nora’s eyes were still looking at her in her death, just like they were always fixed on her in life.

“I did you a favor by closing that box again. It’s a shame to let a pretty face like that decompose.” The tinge of annoyance in his voice hides something deeper behind it, an intense disapproval that’s close to crossing the line into hatred. The mask of calmness begins to crack. “But it seems that you’ve found a new flame and now you’re more concerned with playing hero instead of trying to save your _child_.”

“How did you-” Snake bites her lip. She hasn’t even told Preston, Cait, or anyone else about that.

“I know a lot of things about you, soldier girl.” His voice gets lower as his eyes sharpen.

Her hearts stops the moment he says that. _How?_

“Did you think that you could just wash all that blood from your hands and start anew? Get married, settle down, call it a day?” He laughs cynically. “Damn. Your body count is enough to impress even me. Thing is, people like us don’t get to raise children and wake up next to beautiful women. You don’t get to live like that when you spend your life dealing in death. I know why you really want to kill me.”

He still has five shots left but she’ll probably get a hole the size of a baseball blown into her if she so much as peeks her head out to shoot. Snake tries to tell herself she’s not replying to him because she’s trying to focus, but she knows it’s really because she has no response to say to that.

“How many husbands and fathers have you killed? Wives and mothers? You’ve done the exact same things I did, they just called you a hero for it. The sooner you accept that, the less devastating it will be for you.” His hand still doesn’t shake under the weight of the gun, still ready to point and shoot. “You want to kill me not because you want justice for your wife, but because you’re just like me and you want to be the top dog around here.”

“Fuck you, Kellogg!” Snake whips out from cover, ready to fill him with holes until another deafening shot rings out. Searing pain burns into the muscle of her shoulder and she retreats back into cover, cursing his name. _Click._ His thumb presses his hammer down again. If she had just been an inch too far, he’d have destroyed that arm for good. _That bastard is fast._

MacCready is too busy keeping the rest of Kellogg’s men away from their back entrance to even look at what’s happening. Cait, Codsworth and Curie are all nowhere to be seen and the settlers are too terrified to even try and fight back. Piper holds her breath and dares to shoot again. Kellogg’s eyes are on her in a flash. Another shot rings out, but this time it’s not aimed at Snake. Piper stares at the ground, the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her head as every instinct she has tells her not to get back up.

How does he shoot so well with that gigantic gun?

Three shots down. There’s no click of a hammer yet. Snake leaps at the dead tree, taking a shot at him before she rolls on the ground to safety. _Click_. Another shot fires before she can reach the ground, taking with it a sliver of her jacket and part of her vest. She can’t hold in the grunt of pain when she feels warm blood spill through the fingers she’s using to hold the side of her waist.

Kellogg feels his own blood seep through the fabric that covers the side of his thigh but his face shows no sign of discomfort. What an amateur move. Her wild zig zagging will do her no good as she comes closer. It’ll just make it easier for him to hit her, and one good shot will be all he needs to make sure her long life ends today. “Did they award you with a medal for this? Damn, you pre war people are soft. I do have to admit that it’s the first time that it’s taken me this many bullets to kill one person, but that’s the most I’ll say about you.”

Piper sees what Snake is trying to do. If her counting is right, he’s two bullets away from having to reload. As long as the veteran doesn’t get foolish, she’ll have more bullets than him by the time he runs out. It’s a risky strategy, but Piper sees another way of emptying his hand. She takes in a deep breath, peeking out to fire at him once again.

Kellogg moves faster than any human should have the ability to. Before she can pull her trigger, he already has his sights aimed at her. Another loud shot rings out and the pistol is blown away from her hand, shattering in mid air and landing around her in pieces. There has to be two hundred yards between them, but Piper gives out a pained yelp as a sharp pain jolts from her finger to the rest of her hand, pulsating and throbbing. The knuckle that connects her palm to her pointer finger isn’t where it should be and she can feel the tissue around it begin to swell.

“Damn. I missed.” Kellogg scowls.

“You bastard!” Snake swears at him. She lobs something straight into the air like a baseball, readying her gun.

Kellogg has to squint to see what it is, eyes snapping wide open in alarm when he sees the familiar shape of a frag grenade, one that she should have used when facing his men. She wanted him to watch her kill them. She wanted him to know what she could do. He leaps back as far as he can go. Before he can do anything, he sees her standing with her gun pointed at him.

No, it’s pointed at the grenade. He’s supposed to have four seconds to avoid it’s range. She can’t hit it. He was so sure of that until he sees the confident smirk in her face.

“You’re not the only one here who knows how to shoot.” She pulls the trigger and he stares in a mixture of horror and awe as he realizes that he can’t get away in time. A part of him prays that the odds are on his side, but ensuing explosion dashes his hope. The smell of gunpowder mixes in with the overwhelming scent of blood in his nose as the fragments embed themselves into his body and his face.

His prized revolver is blown into pieces and lands with heavy _thunk_ on the ground. The receiver lands too far for him to reach and the custom made barrel he loved so much is bent beyond saving. Years and years of careful maintenance, gone.

“I kind of hoped to hear you scream when that happened.” Snake comes out from behind the tree, her pistol locked and loaded. She takes her time taking a leisurely stroll towards him. “But hey, your face is starting to look like mine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not flattered but at least I’ll be known as the hot one. You look like shit.”

Kellogg lets out a low rumble of a laugh, red seeping out of the fragments in his face. He turns his head, spitting out a tooth or two that comes out with a thick mixture of spit and dark red blood before he gives her a bloody grin. "I thought you took a suspiciously long time going through my guys." 

“And by the way,” All the previous traces of pain is gone from her face. Snake raises her gun, her tongue darting out to lick the blood away from the corner of her mouth. “This is why they gave me a medal.”

“I knew we had something in common.” His throat strains those words out. The friends they could have been in another world.

She fires one shot after another, emptying her clip on his body. Thick spurts of blood erupt from his veins, and she only pulls on her trigger harder as if that’ll hurt him more. She continues pulling on it even after the harmless clicks tell that she has no more bullets to spend on him. Blood seeps into the soil around his body, but his eyes are still looking at hers. He doesn’t make a sound but something feels off to her. There’s no way he could still be alive, but it doesn’t feel like he’s dead either.

Finally, she turns her head and walks away. There’s no way anyone could survive that.

“Blue!” Piper calls out from behind her. She finds trouble lugging the veteran’s rifle with one hand but she shoves it into the woman’s hands nonetheless. “There’s more!”

The men have stopped trying to attack Sanctuary, instead heading towards them. The two women run and take cover behind a large rock, but it doesn’t look like they’re going to have enough trouble. With the entirety of the stragglers concentrated in one place, the settlers and the various characters Snake has recruited to their cause have started taking on their share of the attackers.

“Are you okay?” Snake asks her, more concerned with making sure none of the red on her coat is blood than gunning the rest down.

“I won’t be able to get into shoot straight in a while, or write, smoke, or anything else.” Piper goes down the list in her head, getting more and more annoyed as it just keeps on getting longer. Nothing about this day is worthy of joking about but she’s just not ready to talk about it seriously. “I guess it’s not bad considering that Kellogg was involved.”

“ _Not bad?_ ” Snake incredulously asks, rising to pop in a few shots herself. An indecipherable expression surfaces on her wounded face. “I feel like I should be mad that you even let him see you _and_ try to shoot you, considering what we know about how dangerous that guy is.” She quickly corrects herself. “Was.”

“Oh, and let you go on that little suicide run without help?” Piper cheekily asks. “You’re more hurt than I am and I have no idea how you would’ve gotten to him without help. You actually got shot-”

“Grazed.” Snake corrects her, rising to shoot again. “I got grazed. And I was going easy on them to butter him up so he wouldn’t see the ace up my sleeve. You almost got shot but you got lucky because he was way far back and shot your gun instead.”

The gunfire stops. “Look at yourself, Blue. Tell me you didn’t get shot. You only got out of this alive because of that vest.”

She looks down. The right half of her torso is completely covered in her own blood and the entire side of her face feels like it was scraped off. It’s a good thing she doesn’t have a mirror or she’ll really be unhappy with what she sees there. Now that the adrenaline is starting to leave her, she does begin to feel the pain throb in her side with every word that comes out of her mouth. “I... I’m sorry. I think I just...” _I just know how Nora used to feel now._ “I’m just so relieved that-”

“Hey, boss!” A distant voice calls out to her.

Snake looks at MacCready, he’s pointing at something from the beat up tower he’s standing on. He should probably get down from that thing before it collapses. “Bastards. It took me so long to build that.” She looks to the back, wondering what he could be pointing to.

“He’s getting away!”

 _Who?_ She looks around, wondering who MacCready could be talking about until she sees the spot far away where Kellogg’s revolver lies broken beyond repair. It’s wielder’s body isn’t there. “Dogmeat!” She whistles loudly, and the canine immediately runs over to her. He splashes in the water, neglecting to shake himself dry.

“How is he alive?” Piper wonders out loud. _Is he even human?_   She grabs Snake’s arm as she tries to walk away. “You’re seriously not even going to wait for anyone else to get here to go with you?”

“He’s hurt way more than I am, Piper. Besides, he saw your face and mine. You know he’ll get to you, he’ll get to Nat, he’ll go after everyone we know to get to us and I’m really sure he won’t fall for any of my tricks a second time.” Snake doesn’t take any pleasure in having to admit this. “And if he can survive being shot like eight times, I don’t know what else he can live through. I have to get him now while he’s hurt or I’ll be risking the life of everyone here and there’s going to be no chance of the minutemen rebuilding anything.”

There are no words Piper can come up with to refute that point. “You can’t go alone. I’m with you in this, Blue.”

“Hey, I’m just one life.” She smiles wistfully. “What’s that compared to all the ones that will be saved by killing him?”

She can’t answer that either. “Why are you acting as if you’re going to die?” She uncomfortably asks her.

“I might. I might not too. That’s how our lives are out here, right?” She noncomittally answers.

“Do you even know where he’s going?” Piper sighs. They’re back to the conversations where it’s just her asking questions and the vault dweller avoiding them like the plague. And here she thought they were over that phase.

“No.” Snake frowns impatiently. “That’s why I need to go now or else he might pull something that might make it hard for even Dogmeat to trace him.”

“I know where he’s going. I... I think Shaun might be there too.” She softly says. “I don’t think it’s far from here. It’s near a marsh. It’s a place that has a big underground basement. He’s been using it as a base.”

Snake’s tanned skin turns a ghostly shade of white. “How did you-” She shakes her head. “Never mind, you’re probably right.”

“Do you know anything about this place?” Piper asks, growing suspicious at the look on her face.

“I might.” Comes another vague answer.

“C’mon, Blue, I’ll get some meds and stuff ready. MacCready and Cait should probably stay up there and keep watch. You go get yourself patched up.” Piper looks at her sadly, standing up to her full height. The fighting has long since died down. It feels strange being the one looking down on the vault dweller for once. “It’s time to finish this.”

Snake watches Piper jog away to gather the two. What she didn’t tell her was that she definitely knows about that place the Diamond City resident was talking about, even if it was described to her in the most unclear of ways. It’s the perfect place to fortify as a bunker because it is a bunker. Those walls could hold up against anything and it’s built to last through the ages. It doesn’t surprise her that the place is still standing. Kellogg made a sound tactical choice by choosing to settle there, but he just doesn’t know that she knows it better than she knows the back of her hand.

Time to pay Fort Hagen a visit.

“Cool it, Piper, I’m here.” Cait answers when she hears the other woman yelling her name, her red hair a mop of mess. She looks more pissed off than terrified, which must be a comfort to everyone else because there’s a crowd of frightened settlers gathered around her. “Got to admit, that was a good fight but it ain’t as bloody as I’d hoped it would be.” After realizing how that sounded, she quickly amends her words. “The guys that fought us, I mean. Didn’t see them shed one drop of blood.”

 _Shit._ There’s such a mess of bodies from both sides that Piper is surprised she didn’t notice that before. “Excuse me, people, we need some space.” She grabs Cait’s hand and drags her away from the commotion, not stopping until they’re far enough.

“Whoa, whoa. Blood running hot?” Cait looks down at her hand. “Might want to give that finger some ice before we can have some real fun.”

“Cait, shoot that body.” Piper commands her, not heeding the flirtatious joke. “Now.”

She shrugs. “Blood running hot, then.” She points her shotgun at the chest of one of Kellogg’s men that MacCready took care of and fires. Cait expected a cavity in the chest, or at least a collapsed ribcage from a blast that close. She has to do it one more time to get through the thick armor.

What comes out isn’t a spew of blood and gore from where a heart and lungs should be, but metal and fuses accompanied by broken wires that spark like a dying lamp.

“I knew it.” Piper solemnly says.

“What the hell is this?” Cait snarls. “This is bullshit, I didn’t sign up for this.”

“Oh dear, what a mess.” Curie approaches them. Her mechanical limbs seem to droop with tiredness although even she knows she doesn’t feel such things. “We will need-”

 _Wait. Curie is here._ “Where’s Snake?” Piper questions her.

“I do not know, madame.” The Nurse Handy answers innocently. “I thought she was with you.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to tone the action and feels down a bit here or else I wouldn't know how to top it in the next chapter. Amateur probs. Also, a bomb is happening in Chapter 15, and it's one that I don't think y'all will expect. See you next time :)
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments! + tell me if I made a mistake editing


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit gets real here.

As Piper expected, Snake’s room is incredibly simple. The little hut on the roof is sparsely decorated aside from the little lantern on the desk and the curtain framing the window. She painstakingly reinforced the wooden walls with an added layer of salvaged metal to give it some more durability and the window gives her a look of the growing settlement. Piper would loveto see it in a few months, when the view doesn’t mostly consist of corpses.

A single bedroll is tucked into the corner of the room where a makeshift wall of bricks keeps it conveniently out of sight. “And I thought my bed sucked.” She remarks to herself. She approaches the desk to look for any clue that could tell her where the woman went exactly. She doubts that wandering around the marsh aimlessly will somehow help her miraculously trip into Kellogg’s hiding spot. She’s got a few ideas, but as few as the possibilities are, she has no time for trial and error.

_Why did you take off like that, Blue?_ She recalls the brief moment that Snake stopped breathing when she mentioned what she knew about where Kellogg was heading. _More precisely, what’s there that you don’t want me to see?_

Two bottles of nuka cherry clatter against the wood when she hurriedly opens the first drawer. “Ah, those.” Curie says. “I think they are her favorite. She explicitly gave out an order to bring all the cherry flavored ones back to her. I reminded Snake that excessive comsumption of carbonated sugary drinks aren’t good but I don’t think she listened to me.”

“I don’t think those are for herself.” Piper smiles faintly, closing it when she makes sure there’s nothing else there.

“I see. That would make sense. She doesn’t eat the sweets we find out there.” Curie sounds relieved. “Perhaps I should remind the recipient of these gifts to moderate their sugar intake.”

Piper would have totally pegged her as being passive aggressive if she didn’t know any better. The next drawer contains an old notebook. She skims it, seeing plans for buildings, designated tasks for settlers and a very lengthy to do list that doesn’t contain anything out of the ordinary. There are a few pages that were torn out of it. She wonders what they could be until a folded page falls out of the book. She bends down and picks it up.

It’s a letter. There are many words that were crossed out on the fairly crumpled piece of paper but the writing on it is much neater than the ones found in the other pages of the book. A quick read of it confirms that it’s addressed to her.

“Snake writes a lot of those, then throws them away, then writes them again until they’re perfect.” Curie tells her. “I believe they’re for a woman who lives in Diamond City. She’s always asking Cait if she’s gotten a reply back yet. I don’t think Cait likes that very much.”

“Yep. That woman in Diamond City is yours truly.” Piper admits. She definitely won’t be telling Curie any secrets any time soon. A pang of guilt hits her when she realizes the lack of useful finds makes her feel less like an investigator and more like some run of the mill jealous snoop.

“You must be very good friends, then.” Curie happily says. “It is good to know Snake has one she cares so deeply about. While she is very kind, I feel like none of us actually know anything about her.”

Piper would like to say she knows a lot about her but she’s not so sure she does. “Yeah... good friends...” She coughs. “That’s not really what we are.”

“Then what-” Curie falls silent for a second before she realizes what she’s getting at. “Oh. Then she seems to be quite taken with you.”

Exactly. That’s the only thing she can deduce from this place aside from what she already knows and what’s not suspicious at all. “Anyway, do you know if she has a map lying around somewhere?”

“Monsieur Garvey would know but he’s under heavy medication right now.” Curie informs her politely. “Fortunately, I was able to extract the bullet and he will recover. He is a very dedicated man. Many feared he would not survive the operation.”

While she’s glad to hear that, that’s not very helpful. “We’ll need a lot of heavy medication where we’re going.” She mutters, continuing to rummage in the desks, being mindful not to further irritate her finger. Setting it was a pain in the ass.

“I’m always equipped with a variety of medical oriented chems and a defibrillator.” The Nurse Handy proudly says. “My multi-tool appendages are designed to function as various surgical instruments and I have a laser for defensive purposes as well.”

“A def-... okay, we’ll probably need it.” Piper continues flipping across every page she can find inside the desk. It can’t be that hidden since it’s just a map and Snake definitely didn’t have the time to hide it.

Curie gasps. “I surely hope not! In that case-”

“Found it!” Piper slams it on the desk and quickly spreads it out, tracing her finger along the middle. The map is marked with the various landmarks the vault dweller has come across and it’s marked with various symbols that she marked down by hand. While she applauds the accuracy and dedication, her eyes flit to what is marked down beside Forest Grove Marsh.

Fort Hagen. It’s definitely not a settlement but the reporter has heard of an abandoned military base around the area, one that’s sure to contain weapons and maybe a pretty big basement. It’s surely a good hiding spot for Kellogg to squat in and Piper knows that her occasional companion was in the military. Ergo, since she lived here before, she’s probably been there.

There has to be something in the base that she doesn’t want her or anyone else knowing about. Piper didn’t hear what Kellogg said to her during their brief gunfight but she saw the reaction his words provoked. While she has always known Snake to be bold and maybe quite a fair amount of reckless, she has never known her to be easily baited.

Then again, maybe she doesn’t know her at all.

The blood drips from the tip of Snake’s fingers. She pants as she reloads her rifle, placing her hand on the wall for balance. She laughs humorlessly at the synth parts on the ground, lowering her rifle for a quick breather before she continues her search. So Kellogg was working with the Institute all along, after all. Dogmeat whines nervously, nudging her other hand and pulling away with a smear of red on his nose. Snake looks back at the trail of blood she’s leaving, lifting her bag open to confirm what she already knew: she’s out of stimpaks. Turns out that the magic wound healers aren’t so miraculous when she keeps moving and irritating her wounds. At least the bandages held up until she encountered resistance inside the fort. At least that’ll it that much harder for Piper and whoever else she might bring to track her.

It’s times like these that make her wish for a brief moment that she used chems for recreational purposes. Maybe if she had some psycho or jet, she’d be able to keep moving faster. She’d better move before a certain reporter gets here because she knows she can’t be far behind.

A static catches her attention. “So you’ve come back here, after all. It’s nice to welcome you back. We can sit back, watch some old movies together.” Comes Kellogg’s unmistakable voice from above and around her.

The old PA system is still working. “Your voice is sounding a bit high, Kellogg.” Snake forces herself to walk again, pushing herself off the wall and nearly tipping over. “Still picking out the grenade fragments from your balls?”

He can’t hear her but he still seems to know when to start talking again. “I’ve been here for a while. You pre-wars really built this place to last. I’ve been entertaining myself with every document and video clip I can find here. Not much else to do when you’re keeping watch and waiting around.”

“Hope you’re not talking about Adams’ not so secret stash of porn magazines.” Snake doesn’t even want to think about how her body will feel when the day is over. She stills her breath, forcing herself to stop dragging her feet and hide behind a console to turn and shoot at the synth before it notices her. She winces at the recoil and only two of the spray of bullets hits it’s target. The synth still drops, but another jumps out to replace it and she shoots that one down too. The bullets spark as they hit it’s metallic skin.

“Does that scare you, Lieutenant? That someone alive actually knows what you did?” He chuckles, his voice dripping with glee. “You must be to have run after me alone. You don’t want any of them to know.”

That explains why he came back to Sanctuary, he must’ve recognized her name from the military database when he started squatting here and found the settlement instead of her napping like a baby in her pod. She falls silent, preoccupying herself only with keeping her feet light and quick. She’s breathing like she hasn’t run in years and her feet feel heavier with each step. The next synth spots her before she can sneak up on it and she has to jump away to avoid the laser that flies right by her, grunting in pain when she lands on her wounded side. The piercing pain is enough to make her vision blur and her balance stall.

Fortunately for her, Dogmeat charges the synth and drags it away from it’s pistol, giving her enough time to get back on her feet. Snake takes longer than she’d like to admit, finding it harder and harder to focus her eyes and hit her target. After the first failed attempt, she takes a breath and tries again, hitting the synth right in the torso. It doesn’t make a dying breath but it’s mechanical limbs fall to the ground like a toy deprived of battery charge.

“Unit designation S4-29 stopped reporting in.” A robotic voice from behind tells Kellogg. “There is a chance we may have additional intruders.”

Kellogg smiles, his damaged and missing teeth reflecting back to him on the computer screen. He picks the last of the fragments from his face, collecting them neatly inside his ashtray. His fingers tap on the table, wiping dirt and blood on the previously clean surface. “It wasn’t so long ago for you, but maybe you need a reminder. I found this just for you.”

“Madame Wright, perhaps you should stay back and leave the defense to me.” Curie wisely advises as she hovers over the body of the synth she just finished off. “You are injured, yes?”

“It’s just a finger, Curie.” Piper says, with a little bit more exasperation than intended. She lowers her voice, reckoning that the sweet Nurse Handy doesn’t deserve the brunt of her frustration. “I have two hands. I’m not perfect with my other one but I’ve had to do this before when my hand cramped up from too much writing.”

Curie reluctantly accepts her response. “Very well, but because it is my duty to do anything I can to avoid preventable suffering, I will proceed first.”

Piper nods, if just to speed them up. She walks on the tips of her toes, straining to follow Curie’s unexpectedly quick hovering. As wary as they both are, this place looks like a synth graveyard. It’s relieving, in a way, knowing that Snake has dispatched of them. The brief calming thought is dashed when they both spot blotches of blood on the ground and walls.

Curie’s movements stiffen when she sees the bloody hand print on the wall. “We should hurry. I’m prepared to perform-”

Something hard and cold wraps around Piper’s wrist. She skillfully twists out of it and jabs her elbow into whoever it is behind her. It hits something metallic and hard and the grip is loosened immediately. “Ow!”

Piper opens her mouth and then closes it again, caught between relief and astonishment. She jumps in between him and Curie when the Nurse Handy starts aiming with her laser. “Hold on, Curie. He’s one of ours.”

Nick dusts his coat as he gets up from the ground, hand firmly on his nose. Despite the unhappiness at the little dent in his nose, he smiles proudly. “You’re just getting sharper and sharper, Piper.”

“Nick, what are you doing here?” Piper motions for him to follow anyway, wasting no time at all.

“Being your backup.” He looks at Curie, nodding his greeting. “Although it seems you have company already. Nick Valentine, detective. And you are?”

“My name is Contagions Vulnerability Robotic Infirmary Engineer, or Curie for short.” She answers. While she’s no less affable, she speaks her words hurriedly as she scans the rooms ahead of them, laser at the ready. “It’s nice to meet you, Monsieur Valentine.”

“Before you ask, your sister sent me. Said you’ll probably need all the help you can get.” Nick explains to her. Nat has spent her share of time around the detective and it’s no doubt that he’s glad she trusted him enough to tell him that. “She’s a smart kid, Piper. More importantly, a good one. Just like you when we first met.”

“God, I’m the last person she wants to turn out like.” Piper huffs indignantly. “But she was right. We’re gonna need all the help we can get because we’re going right into Kellogg’s nest. You’re due for one hell of a tip when Blue gets your bill.”

“Nonsense. You two are here and I really doubt she’s paying you.” He wryly smiles and refrains from commenting on those words about Nat. He holds his revolver, his steps calculated and his grip a textbook example that the guys in the police academy would have done well to emulate. “I know I might not carry a badge, but you never stop being a cop. You can’t, really. Might be how our friend feels too.” 

The sound of static comes from above them. The three simultaneously look up, relieved to find that it’s only the PA. “Here you go. A little refresher on your last days before the war.”

“Kellogg.” Nick’s eyes narrow. He must be speaking to Snake over the PA because she hasn’t reached him. There’s still time.

Simultaneously, the monitors that  are spread throughout the hallway turn to life. A grainy, black and white view of a door  blips onto the screen . A man’s hand comes up and it reluctantly knocks. The three keep on walking, wary of any more synths that might come  and try to take them by surprise, but they’d all be lying if they said they weren’t keeping watch on the scene unfolding in the video. 

A woman opens the door. She has a head of long and luscious dark hair and a set of equally dark and intelligent eyes that’s framed by her long lashes. Her beauty still shines through the slight frown on her wine red lips, but it quickly disa ppears . “Edwards.” Her voice is smooth and calculated, as fine as her tailored blazer and the pencil skirt that frames her flattering figure beautifully.  She leaves the top button of her pressed shirt undone, showing the smallest hint of her generous bust. 

P iper clicks her tongue. That is one hot lady.

“Good afternoon, Nora. It’s nice to see you again. I see that you’re back at work already, you must be enjoying your career in law.” The man nervously greets her, holding his hand out to shake hers. 

“You can say that. It feels good to be back in the court after so long of being away.” Nora takes his hand and smiles. “Shaun is growing fast, and while my wife doesn’t really cook me a meal to come home to, the neighbors do and I’m afraid we’ll need a bigger fridge to accommodate all of them.”

“She still can’t cook, huh?” He chuckles nostalgically. “I guess it’s good that your wife is a national hero. The woman who saved the world from the atomic bombs. You’ll never have to cook again.” 

“We’re still getting free meals on our date nights, not that I’m complaining. More money saved into Shaun’s college fund is never bad.” Nora laughs, stepping aside to let him in. “Come in, it’s been too long. You’ve been promoted, Corporal.” 

“Who’s at the door, babe?” The all too familiar voice makes Piper hold her breath. Snake’s hair is wet and she’s in the middle of drying it with a towel. She’s dressed in no more than a pair of shorts and a bra and she has more hair than Piper is used to seeing her with. The veteran’s eyes seem to glow when she sees him and she drops the towel and opens her arms wide as she approaches him. “Edwards! Man, it’s been too long. Don’t tell me you forgot about your best buddy, huh?” 

“Damn, it’s good to see you.” There’s a hint of trouble in his voice as he closes in and gives her a firm hug, patting her back. It takes a good five seconds before he backs away. “Good to hear that your face healed up well. I still like telling the boys at the base about how America’s biggest hero went back into a burning ship to save me in the middle of the Baltic sea.” 

“Yeah, well you hooked me up with a good doctor. I was afraid this one would’ve left me at the altar right there and then if I showed up looking like I did.” Snake casually throws her arm around her wife, giving her a brief kiss to the cheek. 

Piper expected a hint of jealousy to grow in her heart, but it’s hard to be envious of a dead woman. She only wishes she could hear Snake’s voice with the carefree lilt that’s confined to the grainy video and the easy smile that shines through the screen. 

There’s a stall to Edwards’ next words. “How’s Shaun doing?”

“I’ve learned how to put a baby to sleep, if that’s what you’re asking.” Snake smiles, looking somewhere behind her. “I just tucked him in for his nap before I went for a run.”

“Good to know you’re still taking care of yourself. I never thought you’d turn soft and lazy like Gordon.” The camera shows Nora quirking her eyebrow when she catches the relief in his voice. She’s getting suspicious. “I... um, I actually came to see you for a very important reason.”

A bad feeling takes root in the bottom of Piper’s stomach. It can’t be a coincidence that Kellogg is playing this just when they arrived. He definitely knows they’re here. Curie’s plating protects her well from the laser that makes her bounce back slightly as it hits her. A few shots is all it takes for her to put down the attacking synth, not even enough time for her and Nick to get a few shots in.

The glow in Snake’s face quickly gives way to worry. She furrows her brow in the fixed expression that seems to be permanently on her face these days. “What is it, Edwards?”

“It’s classified military business.” He looks to Nora apologetically.

“She’s not military anymore.” Nora crosses her arms and firmly stands to her point. “She retired a year ago. You know this.”

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, Nora. Please.” He tries to hide the snap in his voice but he can’t deny the urgency that shows through.

“You don’t have to ask to know that I am indeed doing well in my career.” Nora coldly tells him, not having to spell out her implication. She could easily turn this into a big legal issue. “And this is a violation of your own rules. Need I bring this to your superiors?”

“My superiors are the ones who ordered me to come here today.” Edwards says this with more than a hint of regret.

“Then say what you need to say but I’ll remain here.” The clack of her heels fills the silence as she goes to the couch and sits. “It wouldn’t be the first time you monsters tried to use her. She’s got to have some legal protection.”

Edwards looks to Snake, but she doesn’t say anything to refute her wife’s point. He sighs and sits down uncomfortably, hoping that the woman who saved his life years ago would speak up. She doesn’t. While his seat reeks of expensive leather, he’s never felt so eager to get up and leave. “I know you’re retired. Hell, you’ve given more to this country than was ever asked for you, but we need you back.”

“No way am I letting you take her back to a war zone.” Nora cuts off his point before he can even set up his reasoning. Her hand curls into a fist. “You’re not the one patching her up every time she comes home, each time worse than before. I’m a lawyer, damn it, but I’m pretty sure I could’ve gotten a job as a nurse with all the wounds I was looking after. She almost died liberating Alaska for these god damn bombs, Edwards, she doesn’t need to give any more. We just had a _baby_ -”

He doesn’t look her in the eye, instead looking to his old comrade for an answer. “Lieutenant, you are the only hope America has-”

“She’s not your Lieutenant anymore.” The lawyer interrupts him once more. 

“They’ve got more bombs.” Edwards raises his voice to make his point, the need leaking in his plea. “More than we ever thought. They’re bigger than we thought and we need someone to make sure this operation goes through without a hitch.”

“We have bombs too.” Nora throws her hands up, exasperated. “She’s not the only marine America has. You have lots, it’s ridiculous of you to keep coming to her because she keeps jumping at whatever suicide missions you give out.” She gives Snake a look as a silent request to keep quiet.

“I’m not talking to you.” Edwards says his words slowly, clearly. “I’m talking to the best damn woman we’ve ever had, the one we need to save this country and maybe the world from the worst war that humanity will ever have.”

Piper has been wondering about that for a long time. She remembers when she first found that article in the library but a part of her pushed that mystery back into her head in favor of the more pressing ones that needed her attention. Her ears are wide open now.

“She’s right, Edwards.” She takes a few moments as she contemplates her answer. It sounds like she’s recited this before and it’s not even her own words. “I’m a retired military woman and I’m continuing my service in law enforcement these days. I’ve got to stick around for my wife and kids.”

“The you I know would never say that.” Edwards mutters, distraught.

“I’ve been fighting for almost ten years. I’ve killed people, swam in freezing waters, blown up ships, done terrible things. I came into that life thinking I could make a difference, but I learned something else.” The voice belongs to Snake but Piper doesn't know the woman in the video. “War never changes. I put out one fire and another one comes to take it’s place, and I’ve put out a lot of fires only to see them come back every time. It’s time for someone else to take the lead.” 

“This isn’t like you.” His voice gets smaller. “Please. You were the best we had and we need the best for whatever comes next.”

“They’ll just make more bombs, just like what they did this time.” Snake dismisses him with a tired sigh. “Look, I’m just one woman. You have hundreds of people. I’m not gonna make that much of a difference.”

“Your country needs you.” Edwards backtracks immediately. “No, the whole world needs you and you’re just going to stay here to sign autographs and get free dinners? Alaska and everything before that should let you know what effect one person can have on a mission.”

“You know that’s not what I’m saying.” Snake’s answer feels like bile in her throat, but she can feel her wife’s gaze on her. She doesn’t dare say anything else.

The awe disappears from his voice. “That’s exactly what you’re saying.”

“No, what she’s saying is that she’s tired of being the ace up your sleeves that you drop right into enemy territory because your new recruits are too scared or too useless to do the same thing.” Nora stands up with a sense of finality. “I thought there was something to your visit, Edwards. Leave.” 

“You’re a coward, Nora. Those are your words and not yours.” Edwards stands up, his height failing to intimidate her. “The world is going to burn because you won’t see that one life could save millions.” He looks to the woman he used to look up to. She looks like she just ate something that disagreed strongly with her stomach. “You taught me that once. This cozy life you’ve got going isn’t going to last if we go into nuclear war.”

Snake looks away from him, but right before she can open her mouth, Nora has already opened the door. “Leave, Edwards. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

Both Curie and Nick stay silent as Edwards huffs and leaves the house in a hurry. Before the video ends, he looks up at the sky. The clouds are clear and a few birds are flying over his head. It’ll be one of the last times he or anyone will ever see of a beautiful blue sky. “God save us all.”

Kellogg stands up from his chair, cracking his neck. Somehow his wounds have already started healing, and while the blood and grime hasn’t been wiped off, his easy strides towards the veteran tells her that he’s going to have the upper leg here. “Operation Blue Sky failed, obviously. There wasn’t even enough time to write a report before the whole world was wiped out. It’s a history lesson now, but it can’t have been more than a few months ago for you. What do you care, right? You and your family had a place in a neat little bunker while everyone else burned.”

Snake can’t look behind her. She can’t meet Nick’s eyes or Curie’s, and especially not Piper’s.  There’s no way for her to tell if the disappointment  weighing down her shoulders is hers or theirs. Not for the first time in her life, she feels just as broken as she looks. Piper feels the need to ask her if this is true, if it really happened, but it has to be true or else Snake wouldn’t be this wordless.

“Some hero you are, huh?” Kellogg taunts, swinging the shotgun over his shoulder like it doesn’t weigh anything. “Hell, even I hate you a little bit for letting the world fall into this state. It must not compare to how much your friends hated you, or your wife. Your inaction did lead to her death.” He looks to Piper smugly and smirks. “For the record, reporter, I didn’t miss. I just wanted to see the look on your face when you find out who your little lovebird really is.”

“You’re... you’re a monster, Kellogg.” Piper doesn’t know what she’s feeling in her chest. She has no idea if she’s not angry because of the shock or because she knows they’re in so much danger, even if they outnumber him four to one, that she can’t afford to feel anything but ready.

“Don’t have anything to say for once, do you?” Kellogg bursts out into a booming laughter at her lack of words. He winces in pain as he does so but it doesn’t stop him from continuing anyway, his raucous guffaws echoing in the room. It takes too long for it to die down. He wipes a nonexistent tear from the corner of his eye. “You’re not wrong. I am a monster but I’m not the biggest monster here. You, though, you are definitely the biggest idiot in this room for thinking that I won’t kill you this time.”

“I won’t let you.” Snake grits her teeth, baring a scowl more fearsome than any deathclaw.

Kellogg grins with glee. He’s not ashamed in showing that he takes pleasure in this, but it makes him even happier knowing that nothing he can make up can be worse than the truth. “Just like you wouldn’t let me kill your wife?”

“Test me again and I’ll show you firsthand who’s the worst monster here.” Snake’s eyes narrow as she tosses her rifle away. She lets her jacket fall to the ground, and next comes her damaged vest. They’re both going to be little more than deadweight in a fight this close with Kellogg.

“Blue, what are you doing?” Piper asks, her voice but a whisper. She can see the hole in her shirt where the bullet exited from before, far to the side of her body. The black shirt is stained a rusty brown in one half, some parts crusty from dried blood but more leaks down to her pants, and this time it’s fresh.

“Stay back, all of you.” She steps forward, not taking her eyes off the wicked sneer on the mercenary’s face. “No one else is going to die because of me.”

“Don’t let him bait you.” Nick tells her, his gun at the ready. “He’s just trying to get into your head. The operation might have failed anyway with you-”

“Nick.” Snake turns her head back to look at him. He doesn’t see the eyes of a pre-war mother, but a blank stare. “All of you. I’m going to stay here and fight. Find the weapon room, there should be a fat man there. Get out and bring this entire place down.”

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, let me know what you think. Ah, Sole, always so easily baited lmao. The next few chapters are gonna be pretty heavy... hot and heavy, I mean.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to get pretty violent. I've warned you, I'm not gonna go into a lot of gross details but there's a reason why this is rated E.

“You’re even more despicable than I thought you were.” Kellogg’s face falls when he hears her words. He frowns and sneers, tightening his grip on the shotgun harder than necessary. “Here you are, so desperate to die because you think it’ll make up for how hard you fucked up.”

“Stop listening to him.” Nick tries to tell her. “We outnumber him four to one, there’s only one way this can end.”

Kellogg raises an amused smirk at his words. “Look at how many holes are in my body, Valentine. Look at how many are in your friend’s. I should be dead and in the ground but she’s the one limping around, as harmless as a fangless cobra.” He’s right. Snake has been thinking about how he managed to pretend to be dead and then escape so fast with how many bullets there are in his body, yet she felt like her walk here was a trek through hell. There is no way he’s human. “You’re not a hero. The Commonwealth doesn’t need you. Turn back the way you came, just like you turned your back on all of us.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t need me. I know I’m one special kind of bastard for letting the world fall into this state, but there’s one thing I can still save.” Snake furrows her brows. There’s one remaining person from the old world that she hasn’t killed, and to get to him she’ll have to go through this machine of a man. She keeps her hand close to her knife, eyeing the mean looking hunting knife at Kellogg’s hip. “My son. You’re going to tell me where he is.”

“Ah, the irony. Your son will spend the rest of his life fixing the mistakes of his mother. He will restore the world to what it once was, even if he will die doing it.” Kellogg supposes there’s no point in hiding it. They’ll all soon be dead anyway. “He’s with this world’s only hope of making this violent chapter in humanity worthwile, the Institute.”

Snake’s heart stops. The Institute. The mysterious organization that no one knows about. She clenches her jaw, eyes narrowing in anger and confusion. Piper sees the confusion in her face and she wants to tell her to not be rash, she might know a way to find him still, but she knows she can’t say that with _him_ here.

Kellogg laughs, shrugging without a care. “You should see your face right now.”

“You’re right, Kellogg. Again. I’m not a hero.” Snake closes her and and falls so quiet that Piper wonders if she’s going to pass out. Kellogg is privy to another view. When she opens her eyes, all traces of pain and fatigue are gone. In it’s place is a cold glare as frosty as he knew her heart always was. “A hero would kill me for what I’m going to do to you.” In the amount of time it took him to blink, she’s already halved the distance between them without a single sound.

The grizzled mercenary grins. _Finally_. This is what he’s been waiting for. Kellogg aims the full length combat shotgun with one hand, showcasing his inhuman strength to his captivated audience, but his target zig zags so erratically that it’s impossible for him to hit her with the bulky gun. He misses his revolver already. A devilish thought crosses his mind. He doesn’t pay mind to the woman quickly approaching him, but redirects his aim at the Diamond City reporter. “Maybe this will-”

A spray of bullets hit his body before he can shoot Piper, and he staggers back a little. “Not so fast, Kellogg.” Piper tells him, her smoking gun raised.

Snake grins. She knew Piper was too smart to not have anticipated that. Before the mercenary can try any more tricks, the reporter and her non-human allies rush to cover just in time to see Snake with both her pistol and knife in her hands, staying low to the ground as she zips to Kellogg like a predator coming for the kill. She moves to bury her knife in the hand he’s using to hold the gun, but he pulls it back. She digs her foot into the ground, weaving her head to dodge under when he swings the shotgun to hit her, hearing the air move with the force of the blow he intended for her.

She stabs the knife into the tendon on the bottom of his arm, raking it through and tearing his flesh like a bountiful feast. Snake fires a round into the side of his rib before something blurs into her vision. He swings the shotgun at her with a force that he shouldn’t be able to use, not with the damage on his arm.

Kellogg curls his lip with mild annoyance as she uses her arm to shield herself from the gun’s metal, although the veteran is sent flying back nevertheless. She tries to tuck her chin in to protect herself from the impact that awaits but her head is blown back as the wall meets her body with devastating force. Snake tries to leap behind a console to shield herself from the blow of his shot but her ears are ringing and her vision is starting to blur again. She can see the outline of Kellogg setting his sights on her but as much as she wills her legs to move, they won’t.

“I’ve got to admit, I was impressed back at Sanctuary but I was hoping this fight would last longer.” Kellogg looks bored when he puts his hand on the trigger, but once again he’s sent staggering by the bullets that enter his body. A laser lands on the side of his face, the searing pain forcing him to close his eyes. The bullet that spears through his elbow finally forces his arm to drop. The barrel of the gun sparks as it’s dragged on the ground.

Piper continues emptying her entire magazine into him, and so does Nick and Curie, but although most of their shots are landing it doesn’t seem to do much but annoy him even more. She can see his face contort in pain but he’s still standing, albeit lightly. Her gun clicks, empty, and all Kellogg is doing is staring at her like she’s a bug waiting to be smashed. “What are you?” She wonders out loud.

“Stop interrupting me!” He snaps, his eyes rabid as he moves to shoot her. Piper retreats back before he can, and suddenly the gun is wrenched from his hand. Kellogg turns to see Snake getting ready to pull the trigger of his own gun on him, but he clenches his fist and hammers it into her injured side before she can.

The bullet leaves the chamber right as she hears her rib crack. Kellogg’s knuckles feel like a battering ram encased in steel and his uppercut lifts her off the ground and knocks the wind out of her, but the blow from the shotgun sends him reeling back. Blood sprays out of the wound in his body but he still stands, despite his pained struggle to keep upright. The mercenary hears a gun cock behind him and he spins around. His knife sails through the air and this time Piper isn’t fast enough to dodge it. The blade slices into her shoulder, forcing her to drop her gun.

Piper refuses to give him the pleasure of hearing her scream. The blade is buried to the hilt in her shoulder, pinning her to the wall.

“God damn, you are persistent.” Kellogg offhandedly says, some strange combination of impressed and extremely irritated. “Guess two you make a good match that way, but this is the end of the line for both of you.”

Piper grabs hold of the knife, trying to pull it out with no avail. She whimpers as the broad blade just wedges itself even more into her muscles, alarmed when Kellogg picks up the shotgun again. Nick curses and does the one thing he said he’d never do. He turns his back on an enemy, sure he’d have a new hole in his chest as he grabs hold of the knife and tries to pull it out the best he can.

A loud gunshot shocks him and Piper both. “My laser! It has been shot off!” Curie exclaims to them, although she still stands between the two and Kellogg to shield them.

Nick plants his foot on the wall and pulls harder, nearly bunting himself in the face with the butt of the knife when he finally frees the reporter. Piper lets out a cry of pain as the serrated blade is pulled out of her shoulder in time to see Kellogg aiming his gun again before she can hunker down and hide.

He smirks. “I didn’t believe McDonough when he said you were a pain in the ass, but I do now. Lights out, missy.”

A loud clang rings out when a bullet collides with the receiver of the shotgun. Snake could swear a vein was starting to pop in the side of Kellogg’s face but her vision is swimming and she’s surprised she actually made the shot. When he looks at her, she pulls the trigger again. He screams and grabs at his eye when he feels the bullet pass through his cornea, but as she unloads more bullets into him, he decides he’s had enough.

Kellogg grabs Snake by the neck and picks her up with one arm, reveling in the look on her face when she realizes her bullets still aren’t doing anything. He slams her against the wall, once and twice, delighting in the sounds her skull makes as it collides with the solid wall behind her.

Snake coughs as his fingers choke the air out of her as he continues to effortlessly beat her into the concrete and her head lolls forward. She can feel the blood trickling from the back of her head onto her neck. Kellogg has surely painted the wall with her blood this time. He pounds his fist into her face, knocking her head back with every heavy punch. It takes every ounce of will in her to keep her pistol in her hand. If she can still count, she has one bullet left and she won’t have time to reload with him this close.

“Heh.” Kellogg smiles, his teeth tinted with the blood that’s been fountaining out of the hole where his eye should be. “Who looks like shit now?”

He could have killed her by now. The cut on Snake’s eyelid lets her blood pour freely into her eyes, coating her eyesight in a red glare. “What do you want with me?” She croaks, an honest question she’s been wondering all this time. She coughs and takes the moment to catch a small breath. “You went through all this effort just to screw me over. Why? Doesn’t a guy like you have better things to do?”

“Good question, and no, I don’t. You get to have a lot of free time when you’re my age.” Kellogg notices that the other three have gone quiet. One peek confirms that they’re hiding behind cover, whispering amongst themselves, but that doesn’t bother him. Nothing can kill him, after all. “I just think you’re a despicable human being. I killed your wife. I stole your son. You should be devastated by grief right now, not trying to rebuild this filthy Commonwealth you have so much faith in.”

Every second is a battle for her to keep her eyes open. “Yeah, I was pretty destroyed by what you did.” She smiles crookedly, barely able to see him. Her eyes are starting to swell up.

Kellogg wonders for a second if he should ask his question but curiosity gets the better of him. “Then how did you find the strength to continue?” He blurts it out, quiet enough that no one else can hear his words.

There is no way she’s going to let this monster know, but once she uttered one word for whatever reason, they were impossible to stop. “There are people here who I want to make the world better for. People who make me want to fight for the world because... there’s got to be hope for humanity if there’s still people like her in this hellscape.” Snake must be delirious right now if she’s having this conversation with Kellogg, of all people. _Her_. There’s that slip of her tongue. “And I think that’s a cause worth giving my life for.”

“You were a coward.” The anger has somewhat dissipated from his voice. She feels his vice-like grip on her throat loosen and she finally hears what lies behind his fury. Jealousy. Curiosity. Resentment. “You put us all into this hell when they all needed you and you were nowhere to be found. You don’t get to pretend you’re still one of the good guys. You crossed that line a long time ago.”

Now she sees it. Whatever this man has gone through, it made him hate her enough to go through all of this effort to ruin her life again. None of this would have become reality without he and nothing scares her more than the idea that many people suffered just like he did, perhaps even worse. “Yes, I was a coward because it was my decision to make. I was the one who abandoned humanity, not her. All she was trying to do was hold on to me.” Her world is starting to darken. She looks at the little puddle of blood lying below her, surprised that she managed to make it this far. The only sound she hears is her own laboured breathing. Her next words comes out as the slightest whisper that only he can hear. “And I held on to her, then let go of everything else.”

“Then let this be your punishment.” Those are the last words she hears before her entire consciousness goes dark. Snake’s head lolls forward, her eyelids too heavy for her to keep open, and Kellogg suspects for a moment that he just killed her. “No. It’s not time for you to die yet, you dog.”

“Blue!” He hears the Diamond City reporter call out to her but there’s nothing anyone can do to distract him now.

He raises her up, then slams her down onto the ground. Her body bounces off the ground and lies still on the ground. “Wake up, bastard!” When his words are left unheeded, Kellogg crouches down and finds the lone bulllet hole he shot in her earlier in the day. He lets his thumb find the opening and roughly plunges it inside.

Snake screams, her yells getting louder as she feels his finger hook and pull inside her gut like a worm. Her vision is black but when the color eventually returns to her, she finds enough reason in her to jam her own finger into his good eye. The veteran can see the muscles of his neck strain as he shrieks in pain but she can’t hear his screams or her own, only recognizing the ringing in her head and the pounding of what’s left of her blood being pumped throughout her body.

She doesn’t have anything more. There’s only one bullet left in her pistol and by now she’s convinced nothing can kill this man. Her vision swims again when he begins blindly pounding his fist into her face. Copper is all she can taste in her mouth as the edges of her sight begin to blacken again, everything growing darker with each time the back of her head rebounds off the floor. Her focus shifts from his face to what’s behind him, high up above them.

The lights. They were just replaced the last time she was here, over two hundred years ago. Snake remembers Williams complaining about what kind of disaster it would cause without regular maintenance and she’s sure the handymen weren’t around to keep it in stellar working order while she was in cryo. He said it was so high up that any structural damage could probably kill whoever would be unlucky enough to stand under it when it fell. Aiming isn’t really her strong suit right now, her other eye is swollen shut and the working one is half closed and swimming in blood and tears, but she raises her arm anyway and hopes she doesn’t miss.

Except she suddenly doesn’t have to shoot anymore. He stops hitting her and the brief moment of rest is something she’s eternally grateful for, at least until she looks up and sees why.

“Get off her, you son of a bitch.” Piper emphasizes every word with a powerful stab into his back using the very knife he used to pin her to the wall. While only one of her arms are working, she uses every ounce of strength in her functioning one to slice through the tendons below his elbow. When the blade hits bone, she takes it out and hacks into him as he uselessly flails in his sightlessness.

“Get away.” She sees Snake mouth.

“The hell I’m not!” Piper fastens his neck in a tight headlock despite the torrid pain in her shoulder, slowly choking the air out of him as she twists his neck and drags him off the vault dweller. She hears him sputter and choke as she roughly yanks him away.

Kellogg elbows her hard in the stomach as he finds his footing, unable to do anything else but drive her into the wall repeatedly in hopes that she’ll let go. “God damn it, leave me alone!”

Piper tightens her hold on his neck. “You’re the biggest coward in here, Kellogg. I don’t know what the hell you are but you just won’t die and that’s why everyone in this room is braver than you.”

“I said get off of me!” He growls, his face glowing red as the oxygen is wrung out from him.

“Everyone in this room is willing to die for what’s right. But you?” Piper clicks her tongue, feeling him spasm breathlessly below her. “You’ve got nothing to be afraid of and you’re not even just standing back and watching, you’re working for the Institute because you’re scared to die and that’s why they made you like this.”

He uselessly tries to tear her arm off but his arms are getting weaker and weaker. Kellogg tries to grope around for anything he can use as a weapon.

“You and the Institute are the reason why the Commonwealth is still like this after two hundred years, and I’m going to find all of you and I’m going to make it right.” Piper feels her biceps burn as she jerks her forearm to press down even more on his windpipe. “Just like what you would do if you had the balls to.”

His hope is broken when he feels the cold metal of her pistol on the side of his head.

“You’re not taking anyone else today, from me or anyone else.” Piper tells him, her breath hot on his ear. “You’ve scared the shit out of me for ten years but I’m done with that.” She pulls the trigger and the bullets enters his head, leaving through the other side of his skull. Dark red blood splatters on the floor as Kellogg’s body falls and she throws it aside like a heap of garbage, holstering her pistol as she runs towards Snake.

“You saved me.” Snake tells her when Piper puts her head on her lap. Her voice is uneven and weak and she’s not even sure if Piper knows what she’s saying. She laughs weakly, wincing when the Diamond City resident’s hand falls onto her swollen and bruised face. “That was badass. You really stole the show.”

“That monster took away a lot from both of us.” Piper jabs the needle of the stimpak into her body, not sure how much good it can do at this point. She looks into Snake’s eyes as she slowly injects it, finally breathing in relief. “I wasn’t going to let him take you from me too.”

“Remember how you told me you weren’t a hero?” Snake somehow has the strength to show the reporter a pained smile. She’s sure she looks like hell right now but she has to say this before she passes out. “That was the most heroic thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Shut up, you flatterer.” Piper looks down, even if it’s just to ignore the softening eyes that peek out from under all that blood and swelling. “You really kicked-”

“Oh, shit.” Snake eyes widen at something behind her.

Piper turns her head, seeing Kellogg trying to sit up. He’s struggling and there is no way he can do anything now but Snake refuses to take any chances. She points her gun upwards and shoots. The last bullet in her gun hits the large hanging light’s support beam but it’s not enough to send it tumbling down. Just as despair starts to hit her, another shot is heard and the bullet hits the metal with a spark, sending the entire thing toppling down.

The light spins in the air along with it’s support beams as it comes crashing down and Piper looks away as she tucks Snake’s head into her chest to protect her face from the incoming glass. The loud crash that follows comes with a loud scream, one that’s coming from Kellogg. When she opens her eyes again, the room is noticably darker but the sight that greets her brings her much more comfort than a scene so gruesome should.

Pieces of broken glass are embedded into Kellogg’s skin and he’s only held up by the lone rusted support beam that juts out from his chest. The bloody piece of metal has got to be five feet tall and there is no way he is getting out of that by himself. Nick stands to the side, smoke drifting from the end of his cigarette as he holsters his gun.

“Nice to know you’ve still got time to smoke, Nick. Nice shot.” Piper stays where she is, cradling Snake’s face as Curie rushes to their side. “Save me one, would you?”

“Gladly.” Nick nods, putting his gun back as he puffs out a breath of smoke.

“Madame, please hold still.” Curie’s voice is stern as she holds out another stimpak. “You have a concussion and there has been significant blood loss. There is a strong possibility that there is internal-”

“He’s not dead.” Snake strains to speak her words, wincing as she tries to get on her feet.

“Blue, let us take it from here.” Piper tries to hold her down but she won’t have any of it.

Snake shrugs off her arm gently, struggling to keep her balance as she approaches his body. . “You’re dying today, Kellogg.” He can’t see or move but she can see his chest rising and falling with his wounded breaths.

Kellogg smiles as he feels the ice cold tip of her knife on his throat. “Damn. You’re still standing. If I didn’t know any better I’d have thought you were just like me.”

“I was a jackass of monumental proportions, but I was never like you. I will never do the things you did and I will never let another you happen again because of me.” Snake’s hand trembles in exhaustion, shedding the slightest drop of blood from his neck. “War never changes, Kellogg, but people do.”

“You think you’ve changed?” Kellogg lets out the last laugh he will ever let out. “That’s funny. You haven’t changed at all. You went back to exactly who you were before, who you always have been. A killer.”

The knife bites into his skin. He thought she was going to slit his throat, but as the blade cuts deeper, he finally figures out what she’s going to do. Blood spurts into Snake’s face like a fountain as she saws through his flesh and spine, the sounds of his screams echoing through the chamber and filling the space between her ears with pulsating pangs of pain that don’t stop. She puts more weight into it, cutting through vein and tissue until there’s nothing left to cleave through. The screams stop as Kellogg’s head falls onto the floor with a thud, rolling away from his body.

Snake drops her knife, finally unable to keep herself standing anymore. She falls back and expects to be greeted by the floor again but she feels Piper’s arms catch her before that can happen. That scent of candy and tobacco can’t be from anyone else.

_Good enough for me_. And her world is black once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo... looks like there's gonna be a LOT to be talked about next chapter and Sole's gonna be stuck in recovery so she can't run away from Piper LOL.


	18. Chapter 18

There is no pain when Snake opens eyes. Her throat feels drier than a desert and the feeling of bedsheets under her fingertips catches her off guard. Her bed doesn’t have sheets. She doesn’t even have a bed.

_Where am I?_

Snake slowly removes the blanket from herself, seeing the mildly bloody bandages wrapped around her midsection. Upon scanning her surroundings, she can recognize the slight mess of Piper’s room but this bed is twice as big as the one she’s used to and it’s a lot comfier to boot.

Quiet footsteps approach from below. “Blue. You’re awake.” Piper observes. There’s a fresh roll of bandages in her right hand and there’s her first aid kit in her left. “Of course you are. I ran out of med-x a while ago.”

“Yeah, it takes a lot to put me under.” Snake points out, looking around with a somewhat puzzled look on her face. “You got a new bed.”

“I figured I’d finally get one now that I have the money.” Piper raises the medical supplies in her hands and gives them a light shake. “I was going to get up to change your bandages. How are you feeling?”

So she’s in Piper’s bed, which definitely means she doesn’t hate her. That’s good. “Alive.” Snake says, wincing from her still healing side as she pushes herself to a sitting position.

“You can thank Curie for that.” Piper definitely did very profusely when the Nurse Handy left this afternoon to head back to Sanctuary. “She had to resuscitate you twice and pumped you with a boatload of chems just to keep you stable. You just missed her.”

The vault dweller falls into silence at her words. She looks down, ashamed. “Are you mad at me?” She immediately retracts her words. “That was a dumb question. Sorry. Of course you are and you have a lot of good reasons to be.”

“For what?” Piper has an idea but she asks anyway just to fill the silence, sitting on the side of the bed. While Snake’s voice is raspy and dry, it feels good to hear it after so long.

“Well, for going after Kellogg by myself and being this close to getting myself killed, for one.” Snake fiddles with the edge of the blanket. “And... um, for not telling you about how all of this is pretty much all my fault.”

This being everything that’s wrong with the world right now. “You’ve got some explaining to do about that last part.” Piper tells her, but she can’t conjure up the sharpness she intended for those words. She reaches out and gently strokes the vault dweller’s bruised cheek, careful not to press down on the still tender skin. “But the first one? I thought I’d be a lot more angry than I actually am about that.”

“Do you want to know what happened after that video ended?” Snake asks, knowing what the answer will be.

“Should I get my notes?” Piper says with humor. She puts the medical supplies aside.

“Well, I hope it’s not an interview because I don’t want everyone to read about this tomorrow. But if it’s gonna end how our last interview went...” Snake quickly stops herself from getting off track.

“Then my ears are open.”

Seeing Nora again, even if it’s through some shitty screens, really brings back memories. The heavy fog of guilt settles in her heart once more. “We got into a huge fight. I kept telling her I had a bad feeling because I knew they wouldn’t ask me to come back if it wasn’t important, but...” She bites her lip. “Obviously, I didn’t go anyway.”

Piper blinks slowly. “Yeah, I kind of got that, Blue.”

“I blamed her for so long after that. It’s why I waited so long to bury her. I thought... shit, what was I thinking?” Snake’s eyes dart away in shame but she keeps it where it should be, looking at Piper’s eyes, and somehow refrains from letting them wander away again. “I kept telling myself all of this wasn’t my fault because she made me stay, but she didn’t. She just wanted me to be okay, probably the same thing I’d want if I was her. I was the one who decided to stay because I thought it wouldn’t make a difference if I went or not. The world would just blow itself up another day.”

Nick was right about how no one could know if her being there could have changed anything. Piper wants to point this out but the words that would have come out of her mouth sound so unfamiliar in her head that she doesn’t know if she can say them out loud. It goes against every fiber of her being to tell someone that it doesn’t matter and it’s not their fault when there’s even the slightest chance that’s not the case.

Is that why she kissed her? Because she thinks she’s not like her wife and she wouldn’t have stopped her from going? Now Piper’s not so sure she wouldn’t make that decision too and that’s been on her mind every day since the day Kellogg finally went into the ground.

She doesn’t ever want to see Snake as a bloody pulp on the ground ever again. Piper thought the anger didn’t come because of shock, that it would come in an unforgiving torrent once she had the chance to feel what she needed to feel, but it never did.

Snake keeps talking, blissfully oblivious of the worries that plague the reporter’s mind. “Piper, you’re the first person who made me understand how my wife must’ve felt about me.”

“Did you just think she was nagging too much, then?” Piper meant it as a joke but the answer she gets is a serious one.

“I did.” Snake sighs. “I didn’t realize until I met you how worried she must’ve been about me, ‘cause the shit you pull kinda makes me feel like I’m getting a heart attack sometimes. Mabe it’s because the most danger she was in was getting wrist cramps from doing so much paperwork.”

“You should think about how _I_ feel.” She chuckles, raising an eyebrow. Piper knows she’s tip toeing around this in a way that’s so unlike her and it’s definitely unsettling. “And hey, I get those too. I’m just glad I took it as an opportunity to learn how to shoot with my other hand.”

“I know I should have said something and I’m sorry I didn’t.” Snake tries to not mumble and follows through with her point. “I was on my high horse and I didn’t want to be responsible for potentially letting the world go to shit. I kept telling myself I might have just gotten myself killed and not made a difference, but you made me realize that I should’ve done it anyway if there was even the smallest chance I could have saved everyone. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, we were just apart for so long and I’d already dropped a lot of bombshells on you and I just had no idea how to bring this up because I was so _ashamed_ I didn’t know where to start.”

 _Except that would mean I’d have never known you_. Piper pushes the selfish voice to the back of her head, agreeing halfheartedly. “Yeah...”

Snake raises an eyebrow at the noncommittal answer. She expected to be grilled hardcore, not this. “Something wrong, Piper?”

Aside from how she’s completely devoid of the angry tangent she should be spouting right now, Piper can think of a few things. “I don’t know, Blue. You nearly gave me multiple heart attacks but you did take down who has to be the most dangerous man in the Commonwealth who’s been doing the Institute’s dirty work for God knows how long. I’d be a pretty big hypocrite if I didn’t tell you what a good job you did.”

“Thanks, but I would’ve been toast back there if you weren’t with me.” Snake shakes her head, laughing softly. “You really saved my sorry ass when you really didn’t have reason to. Thanks a lot for that. You’ve got guts going after some immortal jerkass like Kellogg.”

“Of course I had a reason to drag you out of there alive, stupid.” Piper huffs, fairly annoyed. “I was done letting him take everything from me. I don’t think I could live with myself if I ran away and let him take you too. Besides, he’s not so immortal anymore.”

Snake gives her a lopsided grin. “Sounds like something a hero would say, Piper.”

“Stop calling me that.” She looks away.

Snake’s words slip out of her mouth without any consideration. “Is this why you’re not super mad at me? Because you’d have gone after him alone without bringing me too if our positions were reversed?”

“...I would’ve wanted to.” Is all Piper is willing to admit, averting her eyes. “But I wouldn’t have. I’m just a reporter, not a soldier. I’ve got a sister to take care of, I can’t just charge into danger like that and maybe get myself killed.” She leaves out the part where she hasn’t been doing a lot of sisterly things lately.

“But you do charge into danger just like that, Piper.” Snake doesn’t buy her words. Even in her current state, she can see all the holes in her words. A little thought comes to her head. “Is that why you so badly consider yourself a behind the scenes girl instead of one that goes right into the heat with guns blazing? Because you want to tell yourself that guarantees you’ll always be safe for Nat’s sake?”

It’s probably also why she’s not nearly as mad at Snake or Nora for making the decisions they did. “I... you’re right.” She admits, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “I’m not mad at you because I just told my sister to stay out of trouble even when it’s wrong because I wanted to keep coming home to her telling me stories of what happened in school and normal, mundane stuff like that. So yes, that makes me exactly like your wife.”

She doesn’t say anything for a second. “Piper, I dont like you because I like that you’re not her. I like you because, for once, I don’t have to do any of this alone. I’ve got you and you’re not just cheering for me on the sidelines, you’re out there right beside me.” Snake immediately tells her, squeezing her shying hand in her own. “Have you considered that maybe Nat worries about you and the crazy stuff you do too?”

“I haven’t, no.” Piper admits, her voice soft. There it is, the answer she’s been looking for and avoiding for the past twelve days. She’s not mad because when she saw Nora in that video, she knew it was no different from herself trying to keep her sister safe. “That makes me a hypocrite, doesn’t it? I keep telling everyone to do what’s right, personal safety be damned, and now I’m telling my sister to do the exact opposite thing.”

“Yeah, but that makes me one too.” Snake confesses, chuckling sheepishly. “I never want you to get hurt, Piper, but you love trouble and that’s one of the things I love about you.”

“Love, huh?” Piper thinks, mainly to herself. She has never admitted to loving anyone but her sister and she’s not sure if she’s ready to add one more to the list but Piper knows her luck has a way of catching her off guard every chance it gets.

A brush of red tints Snake’s cheeks at her slip of the tongue but she doesn’t say anything to refute it.

“Would you look at that.” Piper laughs softly, taking in the sight before her. It had taken over a week for the color to return to the veteran’s skin, for the pained whimpers in her sleep to recede to simple unclear mumbles of whatever she’s dreaming of that night. She waited days and nights for her to open her eyes again, and now that she has, she feels like she can breathe again. “I didn’t know you could blush.”

“Me neither.” Snake smiles, welcoming the hand that comes to stroke her cheek. When the slender fingers touch her cheek, still abloom with her bruises, she recoils at the touch and hisses in pain. “Ow. Damn.”

“Shit, sorry.” Piper apologizes and retracts her hand quickly as if she’s touched an open flame. She stays where she is, taking in the view of the veteran’s wounded face. It’ll take a bit before she can remove the stitches and while the swelling has gone down, the surface of her skin is still mapped with varying shades of blues and purples. She touches her hand instead, comforted by the light squeeze she gets in return, and smiles impishly. “Y’know, Blue, you didn’t seem that hurt when Kellogg was pummeling you into the ground.”

Snake shrugs and returns her jest. “It’s a rule I’ve always had. Only show how much it hurts when a cute girl is nursing you. Trust me, it works like a charm.”

“I wonder why.” Piper giggles, her voice light and cheerful. It’s a sound that’s become unfamiliar to her throughout the past weeks, when the worry and fear first started taking over.

The sound is a melody to her ears that she didn’t realize missed this much. The vault dweller smiles although it makes the throbbing pain in her cheeks soar. “I missed you a lot, Piper.”

The reporter apologetically smiles back. “I missed you too. I should really check my mailbox more often, I’ve just been running around doing so many things. Sorry I didn’t reply more often.”

“Don’t apologize.” Snake laughs, waving off her concerns. “I knew you were probably saving the world somehow.”

“I figured it out too late. Kellogg attacked Sanctuary and he almost _killed_ you.” The smile plunges slowly from Piper’s face. “That doesn’t sound like saving anything to me.”

The vault dweller frowns in disagreement. “Piper, everyone at Sanctuary would be dead if not for you. Me included. You told me to get back there in case he showed up, you dragged my half dead ass out of Fort Hagen. Kellogg is out of the picture thanks to you and that means he won’t be hurting anyone anymore.”

Piper turns away from the tender gaze aimed at her like it’s a bright light that hurts her to look at. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She asks, her cheeks growing warm.

Snake smiles slyly. “I don’t know if you ever got to read a lot of fairytales, but it’s kind of tradition for the knight in shining armor to kiss the damsel in distress.”

“You are the furthest thing from a damsel in distress, Blue.” Piper laughs. “But I’ll take that offer any day.”

The reporter lowers her lips to hers slowly, careful not to hurt her any further than she already is. They sigh with relief as their lips touch, moving clumsily as if it’s their first time kissing each other. While nothing can make Snake forget the distinct taste she’s grown to crave in the dark nights during their days apart, it feels like so much has happened that she’ll need to learn the curves of her lips again. She imagined their first kiss after everything would be deep, brimming with lust and desire, but it’s so tentative and soft she fears she could shatter if they break apart too soon.

Snake is grateful that Piper doesn’t move away when they part for air, instead staying and peppering her wounded face with feather light kisses that almost tickle to the touch. “Thank you.” She murmurs before she goes to find her lips once more.

“Why are you thanking me this time?” Piper teases. “For bathing you and dealing with you elbowing me in your sleep for two weeks?”

“Oh God, that’s not how I thought you’d see me naked again but I appreciate that. It’s not really what I’m talking about, though.” Snake looks mildly horrified at the realization that _someone_ must have cleaned her really well because she’s not covered in dirt and blood anymore. “I mean thanks for being out here with me. I’ve always loved being out in the field but it does get awfully lonely after a while. I’m just glad that’s not the case with you around.”

“Thanks for being out here with me too, Blue.” She replies, giving a small shrug. “Being in constant danger is a lot less scary with you around.”

“Talking about danger, should I even be here right now?” nake’s easy smile drops from her face. “Kellogg knew about us. There’s got to be eyes all around the city.”

“Oh, I know.” Piper doesn’t look the least bit surprised. “Diamond City definitely has Institute spies, like McDonough. That’s why I keep yelling really loud about my wild speculations about them. It throws them off, makes them think I know way less than I do. The catch is they don’t know that we know so we both have to keep acting like there’s nothing wrong here just so we don’t tip them off.”

Snake blinks, impressed. “That is a really bold plan.”

“Yeah, me and Nick have been working on some stuff while you were out.” Piper reaches for the fresh bandages, cocking her head to the side to ask if she can remove the bloodied ones from her abdomen. Upon receiving a nod, she gets to work. “I know the situation seems pretty bleak but if you remember my occasional colleague, Deacon, he can help us but I can’t reveal any more until we meet with him.”

“When and where?” Snake sees Piper discarding the used bandages on the floor, reaching for a clean cloth. She dips it in the bucket of water beside the bed, wringing it dry before carefully wiping and dabbing off the blood around her wound.

“The bar in Goodneighbor. I’ll send word when we’re both ready to head out again, but we have to lay low until then.” Piper lightens the pressure when she sees Snake flinch as her cloth goes too close to the healing wound. She frowns, deep in thought.

“I seem to be healing really well and you are too.” Snake looks at the hole in her waist. It’s nearly closed already. That’s obviously not natural, especially with a bullet of such high caliber.

“Yeah, I’ve been asking Cait to buy me as many stimpaks from merchants as she can so I’m pretty much broke now.” Piper really does not want to look at the contents of her safe at the moment. “I’m going to put the bandages on now.”

“Alright.” Snake pushes herself up slowly.

“Wait, Blue-” Piper is about to stop her before the vault dweller eases herself to a sitting position with only minimal wincing on her part. “Huh. I guess all those stimpaks were worth it, after all.”

“And I really owe you. Even more than I already did, anyway.” Snake turns her back to her carefully. The initial soreness of her muscles isn’t ideal but she’s surprised she can even move.

Her back is one of the few parts of her body left fairly undamaged from her brawl with Kellogg. Piper carefully wraps the bandages around her waist, careful to keep it firm but not tight enough to irritate the wound. From years of constant practice, she finds that she’s able to do this with minimal effort as her eyes fall onto the slight curve of Snake’s neck, tanned and supple like the rest of her. She ties the knot perfectly despite her still hurting finger. “How does this feel?”

“Perfect.” Snake smiles when she feels a light touch on the back of her neck and a hand sweeping her hair over her shoulder.

Piper can feel the little fine hairs on the back of the veteran’s neck stand as she drags her lips along the bronzed skin. It shivers as her warm breath ghosts along it’s surface. To her dismay, Snake moves away and for a moment all she feels is the air until she opens her eyes in time to see the vault dweller moving in to envelop her mouth in hers again. Snake’s hand clings to Piper’s collar, guiding her to join her in the bed.

The reporter is all too happy to sink into her new mattress with her, letting her hands roam the muscular thighs underneath as Snake keeps herself busy with trying to undo the buttons on her shirt. “Time to break in the new bed?” The vault dweller smirks.

“I wish, but you don’t really look like you can handle-” Firm knocks on the door keep Piper from finishing her sentence. “That must be Nick.”

Snake groans, letting her head fall back on her pillow. “Damn it, again.”

“Piper? Are you there?” Surely, Nick’s voice calls out from outside.

“Come in, Nick!” She replies. Once they hear the door opening, she gets off the bed and pokes her head into the stairway. “We’re up here.”

“We didn’t get the time to talk much last night, thanks to the guards, but-” Nick stops when he sees Snake on the bed, wide awake and lounging on the bed like it’s her day off. He carries a cardboard box, tucked securely under his arm. “You’re up.”

“Hey, Nick.” Snake greets, not even trying to cover herself with the blanket. “Is that a ‘get well soon’ present for me? I hope it’s a cake and I hope it’s chocolate.”

The detective smiles wryly. “Nothing so delicious, unfortunately. You’re looking well. I didn’t think you’d be awake so soon.”

“Please tell me the two of you didn’t take turns bathing me while I was unconscious.” She shudders at the thought.

Nick chuckles, carefully putting the box down in the middle of the room. “No, I wasn’t a part of that. Curie was, though I don’t think you should be worried about her telling the world about whatever funny looking birthmark you’ve got to hide.”

“No, it’s not a birthmark. I got a tramp stamp when I was in college. I was drunk and I lost this bet...” Snake snickers when she sees the mildly horrified look on his face. “I’m kidding.”

“You’ve been out for a while because Curie figured the best thing to do was keep you under for a while to aid recovery.” Nick looks somewhat relieved that she was joking. “But rest assured, Piper and I have been keeping busy trying to figure out our next step.”

“Thank God you have, ‘cause I don’t think I’m going to be able to contribute anything useful for a while.” Snake gestures to herself.

“So we need to find a way into the Institute to find Shaun but the problem is no one has any idea where it is.” Piper slows down, as if trying to figure out how to put this. “Kellogg must have known, but we turned the fort upside down trying to find any clue as to where it has to be and there was nothing. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to just leave their home address lying around, anyway.”

“But there are some people who might be able to help. No one in the Commonwealth wants to tango with the Institute except for one organization.” Nick lowers his voice. “The Railroad. They’re dedicated to saving synths and taking down the Institute, although there’s not much else I know about them. They’re very secretive and they have good intelligence. Piper and I thought that we could barter with them.”

“So last night Nick and I broke into Mayor McDonough’s office.” Piper finally says it. “We needed some kind of information about the Institute to get their attention and-”

“Wait, wait, you did what? How?” Snake stops her right there.

The reporter groans and Nick visibly tries to hold in a laugh. “Don’t ask.”

“Please tell me you didn’t seduce Geneva.”

“Close, but no. I took her out on a girl’s night and got her wasted and then copied her keys while she was passed out on my couch.” Piper tells her, beginning to look queasy as she remembers the night. “I spent three hours scrubbing my floors to get the vomit out the morning after.”

“And then I dressed up as a mannequin to get past the guards and get inside while Piper made a diversion outside the office. It had something to do with her and Cait staging a brawl in the market over a bottle of whiskey.” Nick finishes the story. “I copied all his files and I was out before anyone knew I was there.”

“Shit, I’m sorry I missed that. What did you find?” Snake whistles. It was a real shame she didn’t get to see it with her own eyes.

“His deal with Kellogg was off the books. The Institute didn’t know he had a safehouse in Diamond City, he’s supposed to stay out of all major settlements. McDonough gave the house to him under the condition that...” Piper feels a shiver as she reveals this. “He hired him to kill me somewhere no one would look.”

“McDonough is desperate to get rid of Piper any way he can. He’s afraid that the Institute will catch wind of her article and find out his cover’s been blown.” Nick elaborates for her. “And Kellogg is a greedy man. The mayor was fronting a lot of caps, possibly from Diamond City’s vault itself. So they struck a deal, completely unknown to the Institute.”

“So he must’ve been watching you for a while but killing you would’ve been hard in a city this packed. He must’ve seen us together and...” Snake clutches the sheets between her fingers. He must’ve seen them kiss outside of her door that night they went out to have their little picnic by the lake. There’s no other way he could have found out. “That’s why he didn’t kill you back at Sanctuary.”

Exactly. “There’s one other thing we found out from his terminal. Apparently Kellogg doesn’t keep frequent contact with the Institute. He only comes to take jobs and take his payments when he’s done and it doesn’t look like they issue tasks very often, but when they do, they’re big.”

“We’re talking about complete massacre big.” Nick adds. “But we know this already.”

“So that means we have a while before they figure out he’s dead.” Snake concludes, voice full of hope.

“That’s why as soon as we can, we’re going to meet Deacon at Goodneighbor.” Piper seems to want to say more but her lips are sealed.

“Okay, who is this guy, anyway?” Snake raises both of her hands, complete confusion in her face. She puts together all the information that she’s been told so far, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “He’s someone from the Railroad.”

She doesn’t say anything to confirm that theory but she doesn’t deny it either. “When we meet with the Railroad, it can’t be Nick or myself who buddies up with them.”

He nods, agreeing. “I’m very obviously a synth. It would make reconnaisance difficult when everyone can tell what you are the moment they see you, and the Railroad is all about subtlety.”

“I run the paper. People know my name.” Piper says in her defense. “You, though, everyone who’s ever been in your way is dead and you’re the leader of the minutemen. That’s a good cover if I’ve ever seen one.”

“So we’re playing a waiting game now.” Snake looks at her side. Deep in her thoughts, her eyes wander to the box still nestled under Nick’s arm. “Wait, so if that’s not a present for me then what is it?”

“What’s going to get you the Railroad’s attention and cooperation.” Nick says, a hint of finality in his announcement. He puts the box on the ground and tips it to the side, and out rolls the dead and eyeless head of Kellogg.

“Nick, gross! Seriously!?” Piper looks as if she’s close to hurling out the contents of her lunch. “I just cleaned the floor!”

Something isn’t right. It’s been over a week, the head should be decomposing right now but it looks just as fresh as it was when she first lopped his ugly head off his body. Moreover, Snake is glad both of his eyeballs aren’t exactly there anymore because there’s something about his disembodied head that makes her unwilling to turn her head away from it.

“That’s not the only problem we’ve got. Another player’s in the Commonwealth now. We just saw them moving in while we were hauling you out of the fort.” Piper holds her breath, her face growing dimmer and dimmer. “The Brotherhood of Steel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be very NSFW, I'm warning you! Everyone who clicked on this story after I rated it E is probably wondering where the smut is at this point so I'm just gonna throw y'all a bone already.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry that I took my damn time with this chapter, finals week has got me spent. However, here's the bright side: This chapter is very NSFW and while I don't think any of you read this at work, I thought I'd warn you that there is a pretty long smut scene.

Piper brings the bloody cloth out of the bucket of water, wringing it and letting the droplets of water drop back into the bucket. The little soap bubbles on Snake’s skin are a light shade of pink and the faint scent of copper hangs in the air, unmasked by the plain smell of whatever bar of soap Piper’s been using to clean her. “When you meet Deacon, tell him that you took Kellogg out all by yourself.”

“So where do you come in?” Snake says after a quiet moment. The water isn’t as warm as she’d like but it’s not like they have a water heater in Publick Occurrences. She feels fortunate that Piper was kind enough to warm the towel for her at all.

“Right. I hope you clean up nice because I think we’re supposed to dress up.” Piper wonders why his message in the drop box gave her that particular instruction. While playing dress up is part of Deacon’s job, it’s not her style at all and he knows that. “And I don’t come in anywhere. We’re going to meet him and he’s going to see you for an unstoppable juggernaut that he’ll want on his side. Basically, just be you.”

“Yeah, my mom used to say that every twenty third of October but she took that advice back pretty fast once I started hissing at people. Wait, no, I think it was the vampire cape that did it. They had to call me to the principal’s office to get me to ditch it, it was against school protocol or something.” Snake stops talking when she doesn’t hear Piper laugh, remembering that Halloween must be pretty bleak here in the nuclear apocalypse. She coughs. “Seriously, though? I haven’t got any formal clothes.”

“We can figure something out, we’ve got time.” Time that’s quickly running out, that is, and she doesn’t know how much they have in the first place. Piper gently pats her back dry with the clean towel she had on her lap, handing it to her so she can dry her front herself. “I think I could get used to this.”

“Looking at me completely naked all the time? You’d better enjoy it while you can, Piper.” Snake stands up, wrapping the towel around herself before she turns around to look at the other woman. “It won’t be long before we’re both ready for action again.”

Three weeks. It should be relieving for them both to have some time off, but that’s not what this time feels like. Piper knows Snake keeps a loaded gun by the bedside table and she gets up to check who’s downstairs every time Nat goes to the bathroom, even when Dogmeat is keeping watch on the front door, but it’s not like she can tell her to get some rest and forget about it when she’s sleeping with one eye open too.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing that perky butt of yours but I hope you keep the injuries to a minimum in the future.” Piper teases with a smirk, content to watch from where she is as Snake shakes out the water in her hair.

“Hey, if it means getting to watch you work all day, I’ll be coming here in a wheelchair next time.” Snake chuckles and ties a tight knot in her towel.

“I have no idea how you’re not getting stir crazy, Blue.” Piper dries her hands on her pants and looks at the tall pile of papers on her desk. “Even I’m dying to get out so I don’t have to sort through all of that.”

“Oh, I am dying for some action but I love basking in your presence too.” She gives the reporter a brief peck on the cheek as the black haired woman walks towards her desk, picking up a slip of paper and sighing tiredly. “What are those?”

“Fan mail. Let’s see, death threats, obnoxious sex propositions, or something interesting?” Piper mutters as she sifts through the papers. Judging by the raised eyebrow and the click of her tongue, it’s the latter. “Huh.”

Snake slips her arms around Piper’s waist, moving in close enough to rest her chin on her shoulder. She sees the reporter’s lips form a smile as she moves her hand over her’s, thumb absentmindedly stroking the back of her hand as she basks in the warmth of her arms. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“First of all, you are such a cuddlebug.” Piper gingerly turns around, eyes flitting to the loosening knot on Snake’s towel and looping an arm around her neck. “I’m so not getting any work done with you climbing on my lap every chance you get.”

“I hope I’m not distracting you too badly.” Snake gives her a wide, dimpled smile. She has no idea how not one of her pearly whites were knocked out in her fight with Kellogg but she’ll take that as a victory. “If you mind, you only need to say the word and I’ll back off.”

“I don’t, silly.” Piper puts the papers down and lets her hand land on the sharp point of the vault dweller’s chin, tilting it around to get a good view of her face. “You’re looking like you’re ready to join the living again.”

“Not into necrophilia, I’m guessing?” She lets the reporter observe her a bit more, standing tall as the shorter woman inspects her thoroughly.

“No, and you really need to rest if you’re ever going to heal.” Piper puts her hand down on the table and hears the scatter of the papers falling to the ground. “Damn it.”

Snake lets go of her hold on her waist so she can pick up the contents of her mailbox that she just scattered all over the floor. “So, were they anything interesting?”

“Yeah, actually. I’m getting letters about you.” Piper sounds like she doesn’t believe it herself as she reaches for the last of the papers. She coughs a bit and reminds herself of how she should really get around to sweeping the floor. “Well, no one’s mentioned you by name but they’re talking about you, alright.”

“You sound surprised.” Snake bites her lip, knowing that it would be useless for her to pray they’re not talking about how much of a failure the minutemen were. Rather, how much of a failure she was as a leader.

“I’ve been getting messages about what happened in Sanctuary.” Piper speaks slowly, finding it hard to call it by what it really was. A disaster. “Of course, some people are talking about how you’re a sham and no one should have come out there in the first place, but it’s weird that I’m getting letters about this in the first place.”

Snake resists groaning, not looking forward for more. “And the reason is...”

“I didn’t report about it. Usually the messages I get are reactions to articles I’ve written.” She pauses, quickly skimming through the many pages and her concentration deepening with every piece of paper she goes through. “This only happens with big stories, Blue. This means everyone is talking about this.”

“Oh, great. Everyone is talking about the second biggest fuck up of my life.” Snake mumbles to herself. “I’m gonna go put some clothes on.” She excuses herself to get dressed, a good excuse to not have to see Piper read critic after critic of her most recent failure.

“Wait.” Piper catches her wrist to stop her from leaving, eyes rereading the words on the papers to make sure she’s not seeing things. “And there’s the other half of the conversation, the one that’s calling you a hero.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Snake nearly drops her towel on the ground.

“Just think about it. When the minutemen first reappeared, you said you’d defend the innocent at a minute’s notice. This is the Commonwealth, settlements get raided and picked dry all the time, and I wish I was exaggerating. All things considered, what just happened at Sanctuary really wasn’t the worst that could happen.” Piper grins as the complete picture is becoming clear to her. “I saw it. From where everyone was standing, their brave leader came back to face the deadliest man around to save them and won.”

That sure sounds a lot more romantic than ‘avenging widower and parent’. Snake supposes this is good but the excitement beaming in Piper’s eyes must mean there’s more. “So I’ll be able to sell my autograph for five caps a piece and we’ll get enough royalties to go to Vegas and have the best weekend we’ll never remember?”

Piper smiles, entertained by the idea. “I’m getting there. They saw him escape and they know you hunted him down.”

They think she did it wholly for them and not to hide the dirty little secret she didn’t want Piper to know. Snake gets where this is going now. “It does sound pretty heroic, huh? A dashing stranger, risking life and limb for the sake of justice.”

“This is big, Blue. I didn’t think things would work out this well.” Piper clicks her pen and yanks her desk open for her notebook, cursing under her breath when the rusty hinges makes it more difficult than it should be for her to retrieve it. She carelessly knees it back closed. “I know it doesn’t seem like the best situation right now but I can turn this around. All I have to do is write an article about how the leader of the minutemen kept her promise to keep the settlement standing and brought down the jackass who’s been terrorizing the Commonwealth for years.”

Snake immediately sees the red flag in that plan. “But that would mean the Institute would know that Kellogg is gone and that I had something to do with it. We’ll lose the advantage of making the first move, whatever that’s gonna be.”

“But we’ll also lose the disadvantage of having the minutemen’s progress stalled. And honestly, the Institute is going to find out sooner or later.” Piper nods, seeing her point as she hurriedly scrawls the beginnings of her draft. “I have to run this story as soon as I can before the news goes stale. I’m going to have to be careful to not draw too much attention to who you are as a person and to not reveal that I know too much about the Institute, but this will definitely solidify your reputation around here. There’s no way the Railroad is going to ignore you now and the minutemen will probably get a _lot_ of support.”

Snake has been in too many warzones to know that reporters who get too careless more often than not get the bullet shot into them. The Commonwealth is a warzone, but Piper’s not just another reporter. “I don’t know, Piper, something about this gives me a really bad feeling.”

“I know. I have a feeling things are going to get crazy real fast after this but it’s either putting ourselves in the spotlight or not letting the minutemen have another chance.” Piper knows the Railroad doesn’t usually deal with people who are very well known but she has an idea on how to convince them. “And I’d choose helping every time, even if it means I’d have to sleep with one eye open for God knows how long.”

“That’s what I’d choose too.” Snake agrees, staying quiet for a bit. In a way, it feels eerily strange to not have ten arguments telling her why she shouldn’t do this. “Hey, Piper?”

“Hm?” She still doesn’t look up, biting the back of her pencil before she continues scribbling at breakneck speed again.

“Will you take down the Institute with me?” The pen stops moving. Snake wonders for a bit if she said something utterly wrong. “Um, I know it’s not really a romantic Caribbean cruise-”

“Yes.” Piper interrupts her before she can go on a tangent. “Of course I will.”

Snake looks at her face, completely devoid of any emotion. “Why do you look so spaced out?”

The reporter shakes her head and laughs, putting down the pen and notebook. She keeps her hands on her desk as if to ground herself. “I don’t know, I’m just so used to being the only one crazy enough to even try to do this. I mean, I know I’ve worked with Nick to investigate them but I can see it scares him to do it even though he tries to hide it.”

“Well, you’d better make room in your club ‘cause I’m barging in and no one can tell me not to.” Snake smiles and walks over to her, putting her hand on hers. Her touch is firm yet gentle, full of promises that she intends to keep. “I know you’re not even going to mention your own name in your article. You’re going to make me seem like some overblown action hero because I need to play that part for this plan to work, but y’know what?”

Piper lowers her voice when she turns her head. The vault dweller’s face is much closer than she remembered it being a second ago. “What?”

“I’m going to be their hero and I’m going to be the best damn one I can be because I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.” Snake swears, giving her hand a light squeeze. “And that’s all because you, Piper Wright, you’re _my_ hero.”

The papers on her desk lay unheeded as Piper pulls Snake into a searing kiss. The vault dweller is caught off guard by it’s ferocity and she braces herself from falling on top of the shorter woman by letting her hands fall to the cold metal of the reporter’s desk for stability. She feels the towel slipping from her body as her hands begin to roam the same path they’ve been traveling for weeks now.

“Blue, wait.” Piper has to force herself to break away from their kiss. They’ve come close to doing this several times over the past few weeks but she has always somehow managed to stop herself before she can’t anymore. She tries not to look at the loose towel that’s one yank away from letting her feel her body again like she did weeks ago, except that’s much harder than she thought it would be. Now she can touch and kiss and do whatever her heart desires and there’s no one to stop her from that. “Are you sure you’re well enough to do this?” She asks anyway, her voice tinged with worry.

Snake chuckles, her voice low and husky. She responds with putting both her hands below her backside and effortlessly lifting her off the ground and onto the table. “Does this answer your question?”

Yes, it definitely does. Piper’s hat falls from her head and onto the table as the veteran slips between her legs, the faded towel falling completely off her body as she presses herself into her. Heat begins to pool in her core as Piper lets her hands trace her well muscled back, their lips meshing desperately as she shrugs her coat off. Snake’s hands fumble as her fingers undo her buttons one by one with a desperation that surprises even herself.

It doesn’t take long for Snake to remove the scarf from her neck. The strap of Piper’s bra slips down her shoulder as her shirt is peeled off, the old button down falling to the floor and left forgotten in their haste. Her lips leave a trail of fire down the slender shoulder, the light streaming from the small cracks in the roof gives Snake a clear view of the goosebumps on the Diamond City resident’s olive skin. It contrasts the faint flush of pink on her cheeks in what has to be the most perfect sight she’s seen so far.

Snake feels the rapid beating of her pulse as she trails her lips down her neck, over her collarbones, and down to the slump between her ample breasts, where her thumping heart beats strongly beneath her skin. Her mouth continues her journey down to a soft yet toned stomach, the skin that stretches over her ribs deliciously warm to the touch, and doesn’t stop until she’s tasted every stretch of her that she can.

Her descent stops when she has no more room to continue, so Snake makes her way back up with her heart so full and close to bursting that she has no idea what words to speak. “What have I done to deserve you?”

Her face is so close that Piper can’t hide the growing blush in her cheeks. Her lips and her body feel so bare and all she wants to do is cover all of herself in this woman but she takes the time to appreciate the softness in Snake’s striking blue eyes, made distinct by the sculpted angles of her shoulders and the strong musculature of everything else about her, and the plushness of her breasts as they press against her own.

“I’m already about to show you my boobs and let you take my panties off, Blue.” Piper stutters, not knowing how she’s supposed to respond to that. She looks down shyly. “You don’t have to butter me up any more, my ego’s not that big.”

“I’m not buttering you up.” Snake laughs, her voice light and easy. Her gaze is straight and unwavering, as honest as her adoring smile. “I really mean it.”

Piper smiles. She knows that already, she has no idea why she needed to reaffirm that. “I kinda feel the same way about you, Blue.” She timidly admits.

“You can change your mind any time you want to.” Snake says, upon sensing the slight timidity in her words.

Her mind is exactly where it was this whole time, focused on the tension coiled up in her core like a whip ready to crack. “The door is locked.” She looks down to herself, shrugging her shoulders. “You can take this off.”

“Anything you want.” Snake moves in to press the smallest peck on her forehead as her hand makes it’s way to her back. She sees the bandage wrapped around her other shoulder, already able to guess how jagged the scar will look once it’s healed, and that’s where her lips land next. “Are you shivering?” She comments when she notices the little goosebumps forming on her arms.

“I’m not cold.” Piper lets the bra fall from her shoulders, letting it fall with the rest of her clothing. It makes her heart race like an engine to feel the fingers skirting around the fly of her pants but not because of nervousness. Her chest rises and falls with every breath, the peaks of her breasts awakened by the tickle of the lips that circle around the sensitive circumference of flesh. “Just... you.”

Snake chuckles at her admission and rises to give her another kiss. “Yeah. Me too.” She confesses as well, closing her eyes before she loses herself in her the ever familiar taste of sweetness and tobacco once more. She hears the jingle of her dog tags as Piper’s fingers fiddle with the chain. They stall there for a moment, as if the reporter is debating whether she should take the temptation to take a peek at the name etched on it. “You can look.” She tells her. There’s no point in hiding it anymore. She already knows that her name would have been the most hated one in humanity, had anyone learned it.

Piper surprises her when her eyes don’t even stray close to it. Instead, she lifts it over her head, putting it aside on her chair. “I don’t need to.”

“You had every chance to look when I was out cold.” She observes, realizing it herself.

“I don’t need to know your name to know you.” Piper is about to kiss her again until she sees the small snicker on her face.

“What if I had a really weird name like Bob or Gertrude?” Snake suggestively asks.

“Then you should be quiet before you really turn me off.” Piper retorts with a devilish grin.

It feels like relief, the growing friction between their bare skin, so much that she doesn’t bat an eyelid until she hears the sound of a zipper coming down. She opens her eyes when a shaking hand closes over her’s, guiding it to the gap of her undone fly where the charcoal black of her panties peeks out at her.

She takes the hint and slips her hand inside, her fingers finding purchase when they touch the damp patch at her center. Piper sighs as she rubs her through the cotton, not realizing how wound up she’s gotten with everything that’s happened. She presses her hand closer, her clit throbbing dully at the little nip on her neck and the pressure of the digit caressing her . While the air is cool, her body feels too hot and she longs to shed herself of the constricts of her pants.

“Take it off, Blue.” Piper breathes, her plea sounding more like a command. While she’s not keen on losing the contact, she’s not sure how much patience she has at this point. She raises her hips. “Take it all off.”

Snake hooks her fingers on the waistband of her pants, her fingers coming away wet, and pulls it down in one go. Piper kicks them away hurriedly, hissing at the cold contact of metal on her legs.

Piper’s legs are by no measure free of her own marks from battle. They’re soft but not in any way weak, her thighs and calves lined with the muscle she built up during her many adventures outside and inside the green walls that protect the city. The spot at the center of her small panties is wet with pent up desire and her cheeks begin to flush when she sees Snake’s eyes lingering there.

Her thighs spread instictively when her hand inches under the fabric of her panties, her eyes looking straight at hers as she finds the warm wetness underneath. Her fingers sift through the slickness, massaging the delicate bud she finds and finally noticing how dry her throat feels when Piper lets out a small gasp.

Snake’s teeth graze over the surface of her neck, eliciting a surprised yet pleasured moan when she sinks two fingers past the circle of muscle that leads inside her. Piper locks her legs around her hips, her breasts swaying with every thrust that rocks into her at _just_ the right speed. Her walls hug her fingers tight but they simply slip in and out effortlessly from the sheer wetness coats them, and she’s caught off guard when they curl inside her and rub a spot that just makes her limbs go limp.

_Jackpot_. Snake smiles to herself as Piper throws her head back and gives her a fully untethered moan, but it’s not until after her thumb meets her throbbing clit that she gets the response she’s been looking for.

“ _Fuck_ , Blue.” Piper curses in between her breathless throes, her knuckles turning white as she grips as the edges of her table. The circles drawn around her clit and the fingers moving inside her coaxes unfamiliar moans from her that grow more and more desperate as the pleasure builds up in her. She has seen Snake pick locks before and she was impressed by the deftness of her fingers and she’ll admit that sometimes she wondered if the talent with her hands extended to _other_ activities as well.

Now she knows. God, she knows. She’s fucking her so well Piper doesn’t even dare to move lest she stops touching her there for a second. Her hair falls around her face as she finds the strength to rock her hips harder, seeking the sweet release that threatens to burst like a broken dam. A light sheen of sweat begins to form over her skin as she reaches the peak of her pleasure. Her legs give out as her orgasm surges through her in waves of ecstasy and her fingers rake down Snake’s back in some mindless effort to contain her moans. Every rub and thrust of her expert fingers gives pangs of pleasure that come like echoes and she readily rides it away until her hips give out.

The office is quiet except for the sounds of Piper’s labored breathing. She tries to catch her breath, wiping her sweat soaked brows as Snake pulls her hand out of her panties. Piper feels her face redden like a plum when she sees her fingers and palms, absolutely soaked with her arousal.

Snake falls to her knees, slipping her forefingers into the pair of panties and tugging it down. An impish grin sits on her face as she licks her lips with delectation. She puts her hands on the creamy thighs around her face, pressing slow kisses around the dreched slit. “This, right here, has been my number one fantasy for so long.” She smirks, pressing a small kiss to the engorged clit that’s just dying for more attention.

Piper nearly squeaks as the contact, wishing her mouth would get to work already but unsure if she can take anymore. “Is that why we’re fucking here and not on the new bed I got specifically for this reason?”

“And here I thought you got it so I’d have a comfy place to lay my head.” Snake jokes, but then her voice takes a deeper turn. “But yeah, we can break that in after this...”

The reporter opens her mouth to respond, but what comes out isn’t words but a low moan. Piper never thought anything could feel as soft as the tongue on her sex, dragging over her like velvet and fire. She thought her fingers were good before but she changes her mind when the muscle flicks over her already sensitive clit. “Oh, fuck...” She gasps as Snake hums, feeling the vibrations all the way to her core.

Snake loses herself in her taste, lapping at her agonizingly slowly and Piper bites her lip almost hard enough to draw blood, knowing it won’t take that much effort to push her over the edge again. The lazy licks already feel like too much, but once she opens her eyes and sees the mouth working eagerly to please her, the sight alone is enough to make her want more. She threads her fingers into the brown locks between her legs, tugging lightly to spur her on. The vault dweller gets the message and uses her thumbs to separate her, unforgivingly lashing her tongue at the sensitive bud.

Piper jerks her hips as she moans, her back arching as she grinds herself into her face. Snake sees her looking down, meeting her eyes. She smirks as she takes a long, deep lick that makes the woman above her throw her head back. Her orgasm comes in earthshaking jolts and Piper’s hips collapse, the metal cold against her sweat-slicked back. Her toes curl deeply as Snake puts her hands on her thighs, spreading her wider and licking harder until her moans die down into tamed whimpers.

She doubts she’ll ever be able to sit down on this table to write with a straight face again.

Pressing a final kiss to her sex, Snake wipes the corner of her mouth but it doesn’t do much good. Piper blushes deeply at the sight of her lips, still shimmering with her arousal.

The veteran climbs up towards her, smiling much too innocently for a woman who had just fucked her on her work desk. “Was that okay?”

“God, I can’t believe you just- I just-” Piper groans, burying her face in Snake’s shoulder. She takes a moment to breathe, her mouth dryer than the Commonwealth on a hot summer. “I’m gonna be honest with you, Blue. I’m really glad I worked on making the walls more soundproof than average.”

“I’ll take that as a good sign.” She smiles and raises her clean hand up to stroke her cheek. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m really thirsty.” Piper looks at her surroundings. Her clothes are strewn all around her and she should really pick all of them up before Nat comes back from school because anyone with half a brain cell can tell what happened here.

“I can get you some water.” Snake begins to get up but Piper quickly catches her wrist.

“It’s fine. Stay, please.” Piper is relieved when her body falls upon her’s again. She didn’t realize how cold it was before but the warmth of her body quickly remedies that. “I wanted to take you shopping for when we go to Goodneighbor but I really don’t want to get up now.”

“Shopping?” Snake gives her an amused grin. “Sorry, Piper, but I’m really broke right now.”

“Oh, me too, but I bet we could borrow some outfits at Fallon’s.” Piper helpfully suggests.

“When do they close?” Snake asks, looking at her pip-boy.

“Soon.” Piper answers, but the look on her face as she props herself up on her elbows tells her she doesn’t care. “So soon I don’t think we can make it, so maybe we could head upstairs instead...”

“I thought you had work to do, Piper.” She teases, shrugging too innocently. “I wouldn’t want to distract you.”

“Oh, I’ll make time.” She’s got a tin full of shitty ground coffee and that’s all she needs to finish that article by tomorrow. For now, more pressing matters await.

Somewhere not far away, Nick Valentine sits by his table. The light is off but the sun hasn’t set yet and there’s enough light for him to observe his object of interest, like he has been for the past few days. Kellogg’s head sits on his table, a piece of cardboard under it to prevent blood from leaking all over the metal even though there’s not much of it left anyway. The detective flicks away the ash on one of the San Fransisco Sunlight cigars he found on the mercenary’s body, surprising himself by how much he’s enjoying it.

Kellogg’s eyes are empty, quite literally, but Nick stares into them anyway. “You’re still in there, aren’t you?”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if I made any mistakes here! I was in kind of a hurry writing this, whoops.

A bead of sweat rolls down Snake’s abdomen as her vice like grip on the headboards tightens. She can see every vein on the back of her hand as she rocks her hips into the rhythm of Piper’s mouth, which diligently works her towards climax from down below. Whatever rational thought in her head turns into jelly as Piper keeps her hands on her shapely behind, her tongue caressing her folds. Her thighs tense like steel as she curses breathlessly, praying she’ll have the strength to just stay upright through it all.

“ _Piper_ -” Snake cuts herself off with a moan that tears right through her lips as she’s surprised by the unexpected wag of the reporter’s tongue.

Her toes curl and her breath hitches at the stroke of the curious tongue on her clit, testing and teasing for which way it’s going to get her undone this time. For a brief second she’s torn between asking her to slow down and just going for it, but her desperation wins out. A few rolls of her hips creates all the friction she needs and Snake opens her mouth in a broken moan at her next lick, her legs turning to mush as she comes and comes. The bed’s unceremonious creaking rises with the ripples of pleasure and Snake presses her forehead to the wall, leaving a patch of sweat sticking to the wood as she rides out the last ravages of her orgasm. Piper smiles to herself as she laps all of her up, drawing out the last of her whimpers.

It takes a while until her world stops spinning enough for Snake to be able to let go of the headboards but it’ll take longer for her brain to start functioning again. She winces as the throws her sore legs over the grinning face below her, collapsing down on the bed like a sack of potatoes.

“You’re a moaner.” Piper rests her face on her elbow, turning over to face her while looking quite satisfied with herself. “Who would’ve thought?”

“Don’t ask me, I sure didn’t.” The area between her thighs still throbs from the aftershocks of her orgasm and Snake’s words come choppily between her rapid breaths. She lies on her back with her limbs spread out like a starfish, her leg hanging off the edge of the bed as her chest rises and falls. “And you are a very quick learner.”

“I have to be, in this line of work.” Piper’s smirk is wiped off her face when she realizes what that sounded like. “Uh, y’know, like how I learned to pick locks, shoot... You know what I mean. I’m completely self taught.”

The innuendo goes right over Snake’s head, most likely because it hasn’t regained it’s functionality yet. She chuckles instead, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Boy, I thought I would be the one doing all the fucking. Then again, I should’ve known you weren’t the type to just lie and-” She stops to catch her breath. “And get fucked for hours.”

Piper laughs softly, turning on her side and lighting a cigarette. It’s burns with a bright fire as she inhales and throws her lighter to the side table. The smoke drifts from the space between her lips as the taste of sex on her tongue intermingles with that of tobacco. “Well, you didn’t seem to mind it.” She takes a break from her smoke and leans down to kiss her. The sheets are damp below her touch and so is their skin, which is a sure sign that she’s due to clean her room again.

Later, though. She doesn’t feel like getting up yet. Getting fucked for hours. _Hours_. Even with the gentle stroke of Snake’s hand on her cheek, Piper’s eyes shoot open as she begins to wonder. “What time is it?”

Snake raises her pip-boy, glancing at the time from where she is. “It’s almost six.”

The vault dweller had hoped that Piper would shrug and continue kissing her again but the reporter’s eyes bulge in her skull when she hears her answer. “We’ve been here for _five hours_?”

“Um... yeah.” Snake looks around, finally noticing that it’s been getting darker and darker for a while. The sunny rays have given way to the citrine light of the setting sun. “Is that a problem?”

“No, but Nat should have come back hours ago.” Piper leaves the cigarette in her mouth as she hops off the bed, grabs a fresh pair of panties from the pile of clothes by the bed, and jogs down the stairs. By the time Snake follows her downstairs, she’s already fetching her bra from the floor and putting it back on, racing all over the room and picking up every piece of clothing there is to find. “Damn it.” She curses as she drops her panties on the stairs.

Snake bends down and fetches it for her, putting it back onto the pile of clothing in her arms. “I can try finding her for you.” She says, stepping aside to let her pass through. “You’ve got to get started on that article, right?”

Yeah, that’s right. Piper pulls her pants on, wiping off the bit of ash that fell from her cigarette. “You’d do that?” She asks, putting her cigarette in her bedside ashtray. She pulls her shirt on and puts her hat on hurriedly before looking in the old mirror to see if she looks okay.

Snake smiles, leaning on the wall as she watches her put her coat on. “Of course. I’ll have her home for dinner.” She moves to the drawer, pulling out her extra set of clothes that she keeps there.

Piper knows she should be down on her desk, really cracking down on the article, but she just doesn’t want to tear her eyes away from Snake as she quietly gets dressed in the corner. The vault dweller doesn’t comment on it although she feels the eyes on her back, humming a small tune as she zips up her pants and pulls on her shirt. Spending the last hours acquainting herself with all her body has to offer has satisfied her more carnal needs for now, but it’s the sheer calmness of this that has Piper’s attention. She doesn’t remember ever seeing the older woman in civilians’ clothes.

While she can’t ever see Snake going anywhere without at least one weapon somewhere on her body, there’s no large semi-automatic rifle and bulky vest to weigh her down and the permanent killing intent on her face has faded into an easy smile. There’s a lightness to her that comes from more than the lack of weight on her body. Piper finds herself memorizing new things about her that she didn’t notice before, like her favorite songs to hum when she’s cleaning herself and how bright her eyes are when the reporter wakes up to their sight in the morning.

She’s only ever woken up to the endless variations of brown of her roof or the occasional black and white of paper and ink when she falls asleep on her desk. She could really get used to seeing blue instead.

“Do you want me to pick up some dinner or do you want me to make it?” Snake casually asks her, grabbing her pistol from the side of the bed and moving it into it’s holster in a practiced move.

“I’m in the mood for something homemade.” Piper immediately decides. She’s been so busy the last few years that it’s reached the point where she’ll never turn down something that’s not storebought.

“Gotcha.” Snake comes by to give her a small peck on the lips, backing off far too soon for the reporter’s taste. Piper opens her eyes, her lips longing for a touch that isn’t there. The veteran laughs softly, kissing her again for good measure. “Extremely mediocre homemade cooking, coming up.”

Piper giggles lightly, unable to help herself. “I like this.” Her words slip out of her mouth without thinking.

Snake smiles, knowing exactly what she’s talking about. “I do too.”

Piper’s eyes are glued to Snake’s back until she leaves through the front door. She expected the warm, bubbly feeling in her chest to recede then but it permeates every nook and cranny of her space like an infestation she’d never try to get rid of. The pen in her hand lies unmoving as she looks at the door, already impatient to see the taller woman return with her sister. She mentally slaps herself awake from her reverie, reminding herself that she has important work to get to. She lights another cigarette, cracking her knuckles and finally letting her ink meet the paper.

The first rational destination for Snake to look at is the school. She knocks firmly, wondering if anyone is still there. After seconds of silence, she knocks again and gives up when no one answers again. It’s getting late, it makes sense that everyone’s gone home already. She circles the building to confirm that absolutely no one is around before scratching her head and going somewhere else.

The vault dweller decides that she should stop by Polly’s to see if she has anything that doesn’t look too terrifying to eat. Finally, she grabs a slab of brahmin that only a little bit gray and keeps an eye out for Nat while she cruises the market for some vegetables or beans.

She begins to worry when all the food she needs is in her bag and she hasn’t seen the girl around. Snake keeps a brisk pace as she walks down the less well lit alleys of the city, knowing that there can’t be too many places for her to be at in a city this small. Sure enough, relief washes over her when she sees the radio station. Travis must not be around and Nat is behind his beat up trailer, drawing something in the water with a long stick and a faintly sour look on her face. There’s a piece of paper in her hand that she tries to hide behind her back when she looks up and sees Snake approaching her.

“Hey.” Snake stops a distance away. She widens her smile when Nat looks at with fear in her eyes just to show her that she’s not in trouble. “What are you doing over there?”

“Nothing.” Nat doesn’t move and instead shifts her feet around, knowing that the older woman isn’t convinced. “You?”

“Just getting groceries and looking for you. I’m about to make some dinner.” Snake cocks her head at the empty spot beside the younger Wright. “Mind if I sit with you?”

“Go ahead.” Nat scoots over nervously.

Snake can taste the wrongness in the air. Something’s definitely up. “How was school today?”

The girl stays quiet at the question. “I didn’t go to school.” She finally answers, turning her head away.

“Why not?” Snake asks, raising her eyebrow. “Well, aside from the obvious. I sucked at math too.”

“Um, that’s not why.” Nat smiles amusedly before reveals the crumpled piece of paper in her hand. “I’ll show you why but you have to promise not to tell Piper before I do or else she’s gonna be really mad at me.”

“Deal.” Snake gets the piece of paper, turning it around. She blinks several times. “Why are you suspended and why do you need an adult’s signature to get back to school?”

“Because I punched a boy in the face, he was bullying one of my friends.” Nat groans, fully expecting a scolding. “Anyway, I got this a week ago and I’m too scared to show Piper because she just told me to stay out of trouble.”

“That’s an odd thing for her to say.” Snake interrupts with a laugh. “So you haven’t been in school all week? What have you been doing, then?”

“Y’know, hanging around. I’d normally be worried about my sister noticing but she hasn’t really been all there.” Nat rolls her eyes. “Piper’s been so weird.”

The water here is clearer than any other she’s seen around the Commonwealth in this day and age. She takes a pebble and flicks it, watching as it bounces exactly four times before it lands on the ground on the other side. “What do you mean by that?”

Nat sulks, wondering where she should start. “She’s never home, when she is she just doesn’t seem _there_...” She gives up on listing all of them, sighing deeply. “I don’t know what’s going on with her.”

Snake clenches a fist, wishing that she could tell the girl anything. She breathes in and then out, trying to figure out what to say. “Piper’s chasing a really big story, Nat. I’m sorry she hasn’t been around much but I know you’re her favorite person and everything she does is for you. I promise you that’s true.” Her words come naturally as she repeats the same words she told Nora a long time ago. A wistful smile comes to her face and a pang of regret rises up to her heart, just like it does every time she recalls how the calm and composed lawyer met her end. “I know it’s not fair that she has to be the one to go into danger all the time, but Piper wouldn’t be Piper otherwise, right?”

Nat follows her example, picking up a pebble and attempting to skip it across the water. It sinks into the bottom at the very first throw and she defeatedly grumbles. “I guess.”

She’s not actually agreeing, that much is clear. The vault dweller takes out her canteen, taking a long gulp of water as she tries to think of something else to say, but a question interrupts her train of thought.

“Are you dating my sister?” She bluntly asks.

Snake sputters on her water, coughing and nearly spilling all of her water onto her shirt. She pretends to cough just to give herself more time to think but the unimpressed look on Nat’s face makes it clear that the young girl isn’t buying it. Taking a deep breath, she blurts the first thing that comes to mind. “Yeah.” She shrugs, smiling a bit sheepishly. “I guess I am. Did Piper tell you?”

“No, but she never lets anyone sleep over except for you and I know adults like to have sleepovers when they’re dating.” Nat says with utmost straightforwardness. “Why else would Piper give her bed away to get a bigger one? She’s had it for almost ten years and I’ve never heard her complain about it even though it _sucks_.”

For a moment, Snake lets herself wonder if ‘sleepovers’ is Nat talk for fucking. Then an idea pops into her head: What if Nat went here because she heard them having sex from outside? The color drains from her face as she considers the possibility.

Nat immediately tries to calm her down upon seeing the look on her face. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna terrorize you or anything like that.” She continues speaking when the alarm on Snake’s face has somewhat left. “It’s just... new, I guess. It’s always just been me and Piper for as long as I can remember. But you’re pretty okay.”

Pretty okay for Nat is a win in her book. Despite the questions she has for the girl, this one begs her curiosity the most. “You’re telling me Piper’s never, uh, dated anyone before?” The disbelief stands out in her tone. She never asked but she’s always assumed that the reported has had at least a fling or two in her lifetime. Snake blushes right as Nat looks away. If she’s this new in bed, she can’t imagine the things she can do with just a little more practice under her belt. Literally.

She shakes her head confidently. “Nah, I’d know if she was and I know a lot of stuff about Piper that she thinks I don’t know. Say, the box of cookies she hides in her panty drawer that she munches on every time she’s stressing out.” She narrows her eyes. “You’d better not tell her that or you’ll never sleep at our house without having one eye open ever again.”

“I promise.” Snake swears quickly. Although the young girl’s glare is quite intense, not much can intimidate a woman who’s faced down super mutants with foam dripping from their mouths. However, it’s generally a good idea to not have her girlfriend’s sister making it her life’s mission to run her out of town.

Sensing the fear in her hasty promise, Nat figures she’ll strike when it’s hot and get away with what she can. “Also, no stealing my sister away from me or making her cry because no one has ever made her cry and I... I know how to throw a punch!”

“You don’t have to tell me that, Nat. I’d punch _myself_ if I ever made her cry.” Snake ruffles her hair, chuckling at her little balled fists. Who knew she’d be getting the shovel talk from Nat today? “Besides, I knew I’d always come second to you and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Well, that’s funny because you already did.” Her words don’t seem to have calmed her much. For a girl so small, her eyes are unrelenting and her voice bears a resolve so firm that they may as well come from someone twice her size.

If anyone told Snake a little girl would cause her enough worry to have her voice waver this much, she would have called bullshit, yet it’s happening right now. “What do you mean?”

“I saw my sis carry you upstairs a few weeks ago. Uncle Nick and some robot was there too. You looked like... like...” Nat shakes her head as if to rid herself of the horrifying image. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought you were dead.”

Snake doesn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that.” Is all she can muster.

“I’ve seen dead people before, you dufus.” Nat crosses her arms and renews her glare. “I didn’t want to be mad at you because you couldn’t even eat on your own and I felt bad, but now that you look fine again, I’m gonna be mad at you because you made my sister cry.” She doesn’t even wait for a response before continuing her tirade. Judging by the perfect O of Snake’s confused face, it’s not like the older woman was going to give her a good reply anyway. “Yeah, she looked after you every single day and night waiting for your dumb _ass_ to wake up and she didn’t talk to me or anyone or did anything else and I heard her trying to be quiet because she didn’t want me to know she was crying but she was! And you know what, I don’t care how much she likes you but no one can do that to her!”

Snake swallows as Nat tries to catch her breath after that long rant. She hopes to have at least some sort of a coherent response by the time the girl has stopped breathing this hard but her mind is drawing a blank. “Nat, I didn’t know... I’m sorry.”

“That was a lame reply.” She pouts and looks away.

“I know.” Snake acknowledges. For a while, she just sits there watching as the lights of the city begin to turn on. Night has come and she doesn’t know if she can convince the girl to come back with her already. While earlier she tried to sit as close as she could to her, now she wishes she could take that back just to shield herself from the absolutely terrifying aura emanating from her small frame.

The uncomfortable silence carries on until Nat’s voice returns, albeit softer and tinged with regret. “I just yelled at you. You should be yelling back at me.”

Snake says the only thing she can. “You did have a lot of good points to make.”

Nat sighs and her shoulders sag. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten that mad, I was just... I don’t know, worried.” She shrugs, still averting her eyes. “Piper’s just been so all over the place lately and she won’t tell me why. She just looks so worried all the time and I saw her packing her stuff last night so I know she’s probably leaving soon, probably off getting shot by bad guys again.”

She’s not wrong. “Not before we shoot them first, though.” Snake adds, in a weak effort to reassure her.

Her silence makes the veteran wonder if she said the wrong thing. After a while of stewing silence, Nat looks to her for the first time in a while and her gaze is more apologetic than angry. “Thanks for being out there with her, anyway. I know I can’t tell her not to do crazy Piper-stuff but at least I know she’s not doing it alone. I guess that’s why I’m not really that mad at you, you’re crazy too but in a kinda cool way.”

“Thanks?” Snake raises an eyebrow at that last part but she finally lets herself breathe when she sees the younger Wright smile.

Nat’s question is laced with an innocence that contrasts the entire conversation they just had. It’s honest and curious and full of hope. “Do you love my sister?”

Snake doesn’t even need to think of her answer. “Yeah, I do. More than I’ve loved anyone I’ve ever known.” She blushes through the smile that comes to her face, as natural as dew on morning grass. “I’d probably bathe in barbecue sauce and run naked at a pack of mongrels if she told me to.”

“Ew.” Nat wrinkles her nose and scoots away. “Okay, that’s just gross. I forgot where I was going with that question but we’re not talking about this anymore.”

“Hey, you brought it up! Talking about barbecue, do you feel like roasting up something up on the patio? Piper’s probably getting hungry by now.” Snake cocks her head at her bag, stuffed full of whatever random ingredients she’ll try to make edible when they get back.

Nat smiles amicably, her stomach grumbling in agreement. “Sure. Just so you know, I’m not gonna help you clean the pan if you burn anything this time!”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Snake reaches her hand out. Nat blinks confusedly. “The paper. You need an adult’s signature to get back to school, right? I’m an adult, although you wouldn’t be able to tell by my cooking.”

The young girl grins widely, opening her backpack and pulling a pen out. She gingerly hands it to her. “You ruined a can of beans. Even Piper can’t do that. Heck, I can’t do that and I’m probably like ten years younger than you.”

“I was trying to make it _gourmet_. How was I supposed to know it would go up in flames like that?” Snake says in her defense, neatly signing the piece of paper and handing it back to her. _Ten years. Heh._

“At least the clinic is right in front of the house. That way, we probably won’t die of food poisoning tonight.” Nat slings her backpack on after she puts the slip back inside, patting her behind to rid herself of dust.

“Okay, now you’re just rubbing it in.” Snake looks at her pip boy before they head out, grinning when she sees the time. They’re going to make it after all.

Piper goes over her article again as she tries to rub out the ink that’s spread over the side of her hand. The paper is filled with corrections that come with a numerous amount of crossed out sentences and the revisions she scribbled between the lines but it looks good. She’ll have to rewrite the whole thing just to keep it neat before it goes to print tomorrow but she’s surprised at how fast she managed to crank this out. As if on cue, the front door opens and in comes Snake and Nat, laughing at whatever they were talking about before they got here. The veteran’s hand is on her shoulder but the girl leaves it’s security as soon as they step into the office.

“Hey, sis!” Nat cheerfully greets, throwing her backpack onto the couch. She gives Dogmeat a scratch behind the ear as she always does.

“Hey, Nat.” Piper gets up from her chair, giving her back a much needed stretch. “Where were you? You were out pretty late.”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” The girl jokes, hoping she doesn’t press the issue.

Piper looks to Snake, giving her a mock glare. “Blue, I don’t think you needed to teach her that. She gets into enough trouble in school already.”

“Me? Teach her to say that?” Snake throws up her hands in defense. “I would do no such thing.”

“I’ll get the fire started.” Nat darts upstairs before anyone can stop her, backtracking only to grab the lighter on Piper’s table. Her footsteps thump loudly as she runs over the wooden staircase.

“So... what was that about?” Piper asks, once she hears the door closing.

“She might not kill you in her sleep, but I’m not so sure about me.” Snake chuckles, putting her bag down and giving the woman a peck on the forehead. “And I’m not planning on croaking any time soon. I promise she’s being good, though.”

“Mm, I’ll trust you on that.” The reporter smiles, sinking into her warm embrace. There’s that smell of gun oil that seems to perpetually linger on her, intermingling with that of the cheap soap she used to wash her shirt a while ago.

“I should probably step up my housewife game, hm? You’re probably starving by now.” The veteran apologizes, laughing pathetically.

“You? A housewife? You’d go crazy within two days. ” Piper giggles at the sheer absurdity of that thought. She can’t imagine a world where the two of them wouldn’t be running around with enough bullets to melt down and shape into a car. “You do look cute in an apron, though.”

“Well, it’s been more like three weeks and I’m not going crazy yet.” Snake retorts, slipping her hand around her waist. She shrugs noncomitally. “I kinda like keeping my working lady full and comfy.”

Well, this has got to end some time. The thought brings a somber look to Piper’s face as she remembers their day together. While she’d never trade this day away, it follows that if the vault dweller could roll around in bed with her for that long, it can’t take much longer for her to be well enough to bring the fight to the Institute and it makes them both uneasy to think of it. They might both end up getting themselves killed but there’s no other choice, is there?

_There’s always a choice_. Snake reminds herself. She knows that they both could live out a slightly exciting life instead of the roller coaster of insanity they’re headed towards, but that’s not going to happen. Maybe when this is all over, she can take Piper and Nat on a long vacation somewhere far away. If they’re both alive at the end of this. _This time, I’ll_ _make_ _the right one._

“C’mon, let's get our dinner going.” Snake grabs her bag, taking the younger woman’s hand as she heads upstairs. She smiles down at her, glowing like a polished light bulb. “I promise I won’t burn it again.” 

Not far away, Mayor McDonough massages his temples as he reads over his daily reports. He’d usually get Geneva to do all the actual work but the stupid girl was ‘sick’, apparently, so now he actually has to sign all these papers. A vein in his head threatens to burst as he hears the door to his office open.

“Do you have any idea what time it-” His voice cuts off when he sees who’s standing before him, face thoroughly unimpressed. “C6-97. What brings you here?”

The man is dressed inconspicuously in a ragged suit and tie. He walks in, scanning his surroundings carefully. His cheeks are hollow and his brown hair is a bit too neat for him to be a wastelander. When he spots nothing out of the ordinary, he steps in and closes the door securely behind him. “Where is Kellogg?”

McDonough blinks confusedly. “How am I supposed to know? He doesn’t report to me.”

“One of the other coursers tracked him down here a while ago. We know you’ve been providing him with shelter.” C6-97 cuts right to the chase, unimpressed by the infiltrator synth’s smart tone. His voice grows more irritated with every inch closed between them. “His orders was to test the child synth to see how it reacted to stimuli in an outside environment, _not_ to bring it to Diamond City where it could malfunction in front of everyone here.”

The mayor of Diamond City backs away with every step that the courser takes, stuttering until his back meets the wall. “I-I don’t know where he is, I swear. You know I don’t give him orders, he only reports to Father.”

“Exactly. Kellogg only reports to Father and he is very, very late.” C6-97’s voice lowers into a robotic timbre. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with that, would you, M7-62?”

He did. M7-62 asked Kellogg to get rid of that pesky reporter in return for all the San Fransisco Sunlights he could ever want, top inventory from his vault, a hefty amount of bottlecaps and more favors than he’d promise to anyone else. “We both know what my job is and I’m doing it, I simply wanted to provide assistance to the Institute’s top agent. I didn’t do anything more.”

“Are you doing your job?” His voice instantly reverts back as he looks down coldly at him. A piece of paper is lifted out of the pocket of his suit and he unfolds it slowly, his gaze fixed on him the entire time. He shoves it in his chest harshly, snarling all the while. “Then explain this.”

_The Synthetic Truth_. Yes, he is a synth and a very well disguised one at that. Accordingly, his face pales when he sees the article, his hand shaking so hard he can’t read anything more than the title. “I can explain. I’ve taken care of the situation, no one is believing that loudmouthed bitch.”

“You know what happens when one of us gets exposed.” C6-97 reaches into his suit, pulling out a snubnosed revolver. He sees sweat pouring out of his former colleague’s synthetic pores as he presses the gun to his forehead.

M7-62’s legs tremble with fear but he knows he can’t fight back. This is a courser, for God’s sake, and he’s just an infiltrator. “Wait, why kill me? Why not that reporter? She’s in town, I’ve seen her around. You just have to walk in there and-”

“Shut up.” He presses down on the hammer of his revolver, his finger a pull away from splattering his brains all over the walls. “In other cases, that’s exactly what should be done. However, you’re clearly unfit for this job or anything else Father has to offer if you can’t see that you’ve not only made a grave mistake in letting yourself be identified, but also in leading Kellogg astray. Now tell me where he is.”

“I don’t know.” He frantically sputters, and that’s when the courser’s patience snaps. M7-62 attempts to sidestep, knowing full well that if he didn’t try, he’d surely be dead. He runs faster than he’s ever run to the door, but he only makes it a step or two before an iron grip catches his arm and forces him to turn around. His face is a mere inch away from the courser’s, who doesn’t give him the time of day before he pulls the trigger. Blood splatters onto the walls as he falls down.

The courser sighs, wiping the bit of blood from his cheek with his sleeve before slipping his gun into the dead infiltrator’s hand, posing his finger onto the trigger. His voice warps into a synthetic tune as he sees the pool of blood spread on the floor. “We will find out where Kellogg is, with or without your help.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, sorry for the late update. I've been sucked into watching cooking shows to fill all my free time. Please let me know if I screwed up somewhere, I admittedly wrote this in a rush :P 
> 
> Good ol' Goodneighbor. We'll be seeing it again next chapter.

“Thanks for seeing us so late, Becky.” Piper says as she quickly browses the shelves. Aside from what she’s already got in her bag, she doesn’t think there’s anything else needs to pick up for now. “Uh, I’ll definitely pay for it if she doesn’t give the dress back in pristine condition.”

“Anything for you, sweetie.” Becky Fallon gives her a warm smile. She looks at the direction of the changing rooms, noticing that someone’s taking her time putting her clothes on. “Hot date coming up?”

She wishes that were the case. Piper gives her a sly answer, a hint of mischief in her voice. “Something like that.”

“Well, I suppose I have to apologize. I’ve been harping on you for so long but you didn’t need to calm down to find someone after all.” The store's owner lowers her voice a bit so the woman in the changing room wouldn’t be able to hear. “You just needed to find someone as rowdy as you, huh?”

Piper laughs and looks to the dressing room. Snake is bouncing around on one foot in there and the reporter has no idea why she has to do that to put a simple dress and heels on. “I got lucky with this one.”

“About time, too. I thought I’d have to put up ads for you.” Becky lightly slaps her arm. A loud crash interrupts her from whatever’s about to leave her mouth. “Now, what in the world is she doing in there?”

“Blue, you okay?” Piper asks her. “You’ve been in there for a while. Just holler if you need any help putting it on.”

“I’m okay!” The door flies open and a slightly rattled looking Snake breathes out. “Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve put on something like this.”

Piper feels a lump form in her throat as she takes in the sight. The small black dress clings to the curves of her body like a second layer of skin, framing the incline of her back up to the swell of her backside. Her long, muscular legs flex as she stands on the matching heels and lets her hair cascade down the side of her face. Her blue eyes nervously darts around. The reporter finds herself forgetting to breathe when the veteran takes a step closer, only to tumble down at the very first step. Snake’s eyes widen in shock as her ankle folds and she lets her body follow down just to prevent herself from twisting her joint one day before they’re supposed to head out.

The vault dweller coughs awkwardly on the ground. She manages to narrowly keep herself from falling on her face, but only barely. “Oh, yeah... uh, did I tell you I have a really bad track record with heels?”

“Oh, everyone does. If a woman ever tells you she doesn’t mind walking in heels, she’s lying.” Becky waves it off in good humor.

“Yeah, it might be a problem if I can’t fight in this...” Snake mutters, dusting herself off before very carefully getting back onto her feet. Her gait reminds Piper of a newly born baby giraffe trying to walk.

“Fight?” Becky gives Piper a look. “I thought you were going on a fancy date!”

“A fancy date in a really sketchy area where someone’s probably gonna try to rob us multiple times in one night.” Snake quickly interjects. Becky looks at her suspiciously, but her smile is so genuine that she has no idea how to not believe that she’s being serious.

The widow sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “You crazy kids. I’ve got something in the back that might fit you. Just hold on there and I’ll be back.” She holds up a finger as she rushes through the storage room door.

“That was embarrassing.” Snake cringes and puts her hand on the counter to stabilize herself. “Jesus, never let me walk anywhere on these. I’m so terrible, like tripping down the aisle on my wedding day and throwing Nora into a cocktail fountain terrible.”

“A cocktail fountain?” Piper whistles, trying and failing to conjure up the image. “That’s fancy. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like.”

“We were both pretty loaded. It was nice, but not this nice.” Snake has to take one unstable step to loop her arm around Piper’s waist but it’s worth it to see her reddening cheeks. “I’m your girl now. Sure, I’m kind of salty that I can’t use my pension anymore, but I think I won the luck of the draw here.”

“I’ll tell you what,” The dark haired woman smiles sweetly. “If you’re going to be this smooth with everyone we’re going to run into, everything’s just going to be peachy.”

“Right. It’s gonna be more complicated than kicking doors down and shooting everything up.” She admits that but doesn’t seem too worried. If they can handle Kellogg, they can handle anything else in their way. “I’m in your territory now.”

“Remember, if I say I’m going to the bathroom, just follow me there and I’ll tell you what you need to work on. We just have to really be subtle about it.” Piper reminds her once more.

Snake nods. “What happens if you just need to pee?”

Piper shrugs just as the storeroom door opens and Becky comes back into the room. “Actually, I’m gonna be taking your measurements.” She looks down at her heels. “You might want to take that off right this moment. Wouldn’t want you to crack your head open in here.”

The vault dweller nods enthusiastically and bends down to get those cursed pair of heels off. “Don’t worry about it, I nearly did that earlier and I’m perfectly fine.”

“Is that what that was?” A look of worry crosses Becky’s face, accompanying her disbelief.

“You really shouldn’t worry, she has a hard head.” Piper laughs awkwardly and watches as Becky skillfully wraps the tape around Snake’s bicep, across her shoulders, waist, and every other place she can think of. The old woman jots down the numbers on the tiny bit of space she can find on an old newspaper. “Um, we were planning on leaving tomorrow morning and I don’t know if we have a lot of time...”

“It would only take a Fallon a few hours to do this. I’ll have her looking like a million bottlecaps by tomorrow morning.” Becky’s eyes snap towards her with an almost offended look. “You’re not the only one around here who knows how to pull an all nighter, you know. I’ve been doing this for longer than you’ve been alive.”

Snake lets out a breath of relief, thankful that she’ll be spared the agony of having to walk in those cursed contraptions. “Okay, I swear I’ll pay you as soon as-”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ve got to get to work.” Becky hurriedly shooes them both to the door despite how slowly they’re backing away, not stopping until they’re outside. She says one last thing before she closes and locks the door. “You kids are gonna grow wrinkles overnight at this rate.”

“Not me.” Snake turns and looks to Piper once she hears the old woman shuffle away. “Dermatologists hate me.”

“Derma-what?” Piper looks confused until she realizes what just happened. “You’re doing it again.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” The vault dweller still has to catch herself from talking about pre-war topics. “You know what they say about old habits.”

There’s nothing left to do but wait, now that the article is done. Piper just needs to print it tomorrow morning when the ruckus of her machine won’t lure in guards who’ll yell at her to quiet down for the night. She knows they’ll need the rest but she’s not ready to go to bed right now on what they both suspect will be their very last calm night for a while. “Do you wanna go for a walk?” She offers instead.

Snake nods a bit too quickly. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Piper is about to take her first step when she sees the vault dweller’s outstretched hand. She smiles lightly and takes it without hesitation. At this hour, there’s only the occasional drunk straggler coming back from the Dugout Inn and the half asleep guards who were unlucky enough to be on night shift. It always get a little bit cold in Diamond City at night, and she’s always wondered if it just felt that way because the usual hustle of the market has died down for the day. The gentle squeeze of Snake’s hand makes her feel a lot warmer than it actually is.

They don’t know where they’re headed, neither of them feel like going back just yet. The neon lights that point to the detective agency hum lightly with electricity as they pass them and Piper keeps her eyes open as most people do in a dark alley at night. Snake thinks she sees her blush when she runs her thumb over the soft skin of her hand but it might just be a trick of the light. That sign is awfully pink.

“Y’know, you might just trip and fall again if you don’t look where you’re walking.” Piper lightheartedly teases her, not having to see that she’s staring to know she is. “I know what they say about chicks and scars, but I really like it better when you’re not hurt.”

“Hey, you try riding face that long and stepping into heels.” Snake leads them to the bleachers near the water reservoir.

There’s just enough light so that they don’t have to squint to make sure no one tumbles in between the gaps, not that the worry ever crossed Piper’s mind. The veteran’s hand gives her a stable enough hold to keep herself upright. “I thought you’d have more stamina than that, Blue.” She raises her eyebrow in jest as she sits down.

“Well, how do I put this? I haven’t had sex in over two centuries and all of that had nothing to do with me being on the receiving end of things, if you catch my drift.” She looks down sheepishly and feels the nervous sweats coming.

“Really?” Piper’s eyebrow wiggles in wonder. “You haven’t been sliding into anyone’s pants at all since you woke up here?”

“Um, no.” A murdered wife and a kidnapped baby. Acting like a teenager at a frat party has been the furthest thing from her mind. She shrugs, looking in the sky and wishing they could see the stars from here. “I’ve only ever had my eye on you, anyway.”

“Flatterer.” Piper gives her cheek a kiss, feeling the rough and scarred patch of skin grow warm under her lips. After a moment of herself receiving no witty reply, she tilts her head to the side and leans in to better see her companion. “What are you thinking about?”

“Just wondering if there are any crazy glowing sea monsters in the sea nowadays. I used to go out into the water a lot.” Snake remembers that cruise she was supposed to go on before the world exploded. She’s never liked the smell and feeling of sunscreen, or the hubbub of rude tourists that’s impossible to avoid out there, but she finds herself wishing she could take Piper on a yacht and just sip on margaritas for a few days. “I’d want to take you out there but I don’t think you’d appreciate an endless sea of glowing gunk. It’s not like I’d be able to fish anything that won’t make both of us grow an extra head, anyway.”

“I’ve always wanted to go out and see everything.” Piper wistfully sighs. Diamond City is far from perfect but it’s a haven compared to some of the settlements out there. The reporter has never had a chance to get too comfortable here, especially with her being away half the time, but until now she’s never thought about how she’s never really seen anything but rubble and ruin in her life. “I know I could afford it if I actually charged people for my articles, but it never felt right to me. Plus, every time I head out alone I end up passing out because I’m always paranoid something’s stalking me for dinner.”

“I’ll take you. We’ll have time once we stop the Institute.” Snake tells her, fully knowing that she may be getting ahead of herself here. She pushes that thought into the farthest corners of her mind. She can’t fail. “We can go into the sea, onto the mountains, the desert, anywhere you want. I promise we won’t have to drink each other’s pee or something equally horrifying while we’re out.”

That last part makes Piper shudder in disgust, and so she decides to forget she heard that. “That sounds really nice, Blue.” She smiles and lets her head rest on her sturdy shoulder. “I wanna do everything with you.”

“Me too.” Snake waits for her to lift her head and look at her. When she does, she can see the sharp hazel green of Piper’s eyes even in the lack of light. Her vision slowly fades into darkness as she closes her eyes and moves in for a kiss and the last thing she sees is her lips parting to welcome hers.

A bang startles them back open. Piper looks into the direction of the sound as she shoots up and leaps down onto the ground. Neither woman needs to ask the other if that was a gunshot, because they’ve both heard hundreds over their lives and that was definitely one. In an instant, they’ve both broken into a wordless sprint across the field. Snake draws her pistol, flicking the safety off and stilling her breath. She reaches the corner of the schoolhouse and peeks around, motioning for Piper to follow when she spots no one there.

An uneasy feeling brews in Piper’s stomach as they grow nearer and she finally finds out why when they turn a corner and find Nick clutching his side on the ground. A small fizzle of electricity sparks where his hand covers his abdomen and a pained grimace is on his face.

“Nick?” Piper crouches down to get a better look at him. “What-”

“Get up to McDonough’s office. You have to get everything important before the guards find him.” Nick interrupts her, his voice wavering as he breathes hard. “McDonough is dead. I’ll stall the guards, you have to get up there now.”

Snake tries to argue. “But you’re-”

“I’m not exactly capable of bleeding out.” Nick tells Snake, giving her an impatient look. “Go.”

The two women nod and bolt away. Snake is content to follow until she realizes they’re not heading to the elevator. “They’ll see us if we use the elevator, Blue.” Piper briefly explains. “I’ve got another way we can use. It’s faster but we _have_ to be quiet.”

Snake opens her mouth to ask what she’s talking about but doesn’t get the chance to do that before she hears footsteps approaching and ducks behind the corner of a house. A trio of guards run past them, unaware of their presence, all headed towards the direction of the gunshot. After a few moments of silence, Piper leads the way and quietly trods up the ramp that leads to the upper stands.

They don’t stop until they reach the highest house there. Piper hops and catches the edge of the roof, pulling herself up. Now Snake sees what she’s trying to do. She effortlessly hoists herself up behind her and they can only hope that none of the guards have the sense to shine a light up here.

Snake takes a running leap onto the next roof, landing so quietly it’s as if she weighs less than a feather. She sighs in relief as she soundlessly hoists herself up but winces as she hears a sound.

“Sorry.” Piper whispers. “I don’t usually do this in boots.”

“You usually do this?” Snake whispers back disbelievingly.

“More than anyone would guess.” She replies, her voice wavering as she makes her next jump. Snake dutifully matches her every move. “I also don’t wear bright red so we’d better hurry before someone looks up and finds us.”

“I hope Nick knows how to stall real good.” Snake mutters, grinning when she sees how much closer to the office they are. Her glee stops short when she sees the gap they have to cross and the long fall down they’ll go through if they don’t make it.

“Think you can make it?” Piper backs up, preparing for her jump. She has no idea how far along her recovery is. While her wounds are mostly closed, she was bedridden for a long time and there’s no telling how her strength is at this point.

“Let’s find out.” It’s definitely a reckless move to attempt this so soon after her recovery, but Snake wouldn’t feel like herself if she didn’t try to do something that blurs the line between brave and stupid. She feels the night winds slap her in the face as she backs away, so far that there’s no more ground under her heel, and pushes herself with the tip of her foot. She only gets through two steps before she takes a mighty leap. She can hear a small grunt from beside her as Piper does the same.

The wind licks her stomach as her shirt rides up, the strong gusts whipping her hair into her face. Snake grins as she sails through the air, but her moment of triumph promptly turns into horror as her foot skids on the roof a lot more than it should have. Subtlety be damned, she jams her foot down to brake before she slides off. The resulting noise makes her cringe, but it doesn’t scare her as much as the long fall down that’s rapidly coming into her sights right now.

A strong grip on the back of her shirt pulls her back before she can plummet to her death and she falls back into Piper’s chest, her breath short. Neither of them dare to say a word, hearing the interrupted snoring coming from below. Piper feels the thumping of Snake’s heart on her chest as they both pray for whoever’s down there to go back to sleep. Only when the snoring resumes do they both breathe again.

“Sorry, I should’ve warned you this one was slippery. That almost happened to me too last time.” Piper whispers in her ear, her fingers much too tense to let go. Her voice shivers with every word that comes out.

Snake swallows thickly, tip toeing away from the ledge. She won’t be donning a cape as a rooftop hopping crusader any time soon. “At least I know I’m still in shape.” She feebly tries to lighten up the situation.

Piper lets her go, looking up to the open window of McDonough’s office. It seems so close and yet so far. She musters a rigid smile as she looks back at the other woman. “Oh, I know you are.”

Those words might have held a little bit more spice if Snake couldn’t taste the edge behind them. “C’mon, I’ll give you a boost.”

There’s no doubt in Piper’s mind that something happened here. The light is left on and she can smell the fresh scent of death that she’s been made overly familiar with recently. Upon coming to the conclusion that the place must be devoid of anyone, she heads back to the window to help Snake up before she notices her climbing in already.

“What?” Snake asks as she scans her surroundings.

“You’re recovering well.” Piper readies her pistol just in case, keeping her eyes open for anything. There’s no signs of struggle and everything seems so normal but she knows it’s not.

“I had a cute nurse to take care of my every need. That helped.” Snake’s hand finds her own gun easily as if the weapon hasn’t been gathering dust for the longest time. It surprises even her how easily her words come despite the thick coat of uneasiness that blankets the room.

They find exactly what they expected to find. McDonough’s body is slumped on the floor but they didn’t think they’d see his finger on the trigger of the gun that possibly took his life. McDonough was one nasty piece of work but Piper can’t let out her relieved sigh yet. She holsters her gun and begins to get to work. “Classic. Make it look like anything but a murder.”

“What a stellar first day back at work.” Snake mutters.

“Well, we know the killer didn’t enter by the front door. This late at night, the entire city would have heard that old elevator running.” Her first observation has connotations even darker than the scene she’s trespassing in. Piper frowns as she speaks it out loud. “He must have came in and left the same way we did.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he went up here by the elevator either.” Snake thoughtfully repeats. “It would be a pretty dumb move to let the guards see you go up here and leave with the mayor dead. There’s no way anyone would buy this scene, even if he was posed like that.”

“A lot of people would have wanted him dead, he was the mayor of the biggest city there is in the Commonwealth and a really terrible one too.” Piper immediately begins to rifle through his desk, taking out all his folders and shoving them into her bag. All caution is thrown to the wind as she completely pulls his drawers out, skimming through the papers inside and scattering most of them to the ground. She doesn’t neglect checking for hidden compartments either, carefully examining every surface area she can find.

Snake knows this would be super against protocol if she were still in the force, but she flips the body over and looks at the fear frozen into his face at his moment of death. “Yeah. He was definitely killed.” She murmurs to herself as she rifles through his pockets. A box of expensive cigars. A lighter. Keys to the office. There’s nothing out of the ordinary until she spots the lone scrap of paper poking out from under him, pulling it out. Her eyes narrow as she reads what’s written on it. “Piper, you have to see this.”

“One second.” Piper makes sure her bag is securely closed. It was a miracle she was able to stuff that much into it in the first place but it would surely be her undoing if she let it’s contents burst out on her way out of here. “What is it?”

There’s specks of blood on the piece of paper but Snake holds it up and the title, written on bold at the very top of the page, is clearly readable. _The Synthetic Truth_. “Judging by the look on your face, this is really bad.” She comments.

“Where did you find that?” Piper hurriedly asks her.

“Inside his pocket.” Snake answers, seeing the reporter’s eyes shoot open at her response. “What-”

“We have to get out of here.” Piper cuts her off before she can finish her question. “Now.”

Their exit goes smoother than their entrance. They hop down onto the roof with their feet swift and light as they make their way down and down, with Piper moving too fast to talk until she holds her hand out and abruptly stops Snake before she can continue on her rushed journey back to the ground.

“Guards.” She whispers, pulling her back. Her eyes dart around frantically. The guardsmen are running to the elevator and she knows that if they use it, one look down will mean their discovery.

“What do you think we’re gonna find up there?” One of the guardsmen ask as his colleague opens the elevator door and steps inside.

“Hopefully, McDonough yelling at us to get the fuck out of there. Hate the guy, but we’re gonna get fired if anything happens to him on our shift.” One of the other guards tells him.

“That guy said he heard gunshots from inside, right? We won’t get fired if he’s dead ‘cause we’ll have no boss.” He jokes. Snake has to stop herself from clicking her tongue in disapproval. This city doesn’t even have a police chief? “Dunno, maybe we shouldn’t worry about it. Guy’s a bag of dicks, anyway.”

“He’s a bag of dicks who lets us do whatever we want.” The other one retorts. “It’s that god damn Piper who’s making our lives miserable. He’s only giving us more rules so she won’t bitch about it all the time.”

A sigh. “Fine, I’m coming but you’re covering my next shift.”

Snake lightly taps Piper’s back to get her attention. When she looks back to see what’s going on, the brunette is already sliding down the end of the wall. The reporter looks over the edge, finding a rusty pipe that leads to the ground. Under most circumstances, she would not ever touch what has to be a leaky pipe where shit and piss is flushed through but it’s not like she has a lot of options at the moment. She curses as the friction burns her fingers on her way down and her knees buckle a bit when she reaches the ground but there’s not enough time to let herself rest before they both dart off into the dark alleys.

They don’t dare reappear outside for the rest of the night. As always, Nick opens his door for them no matter how late it is. His shirt is left off this time as he makes the necessary repairs on his body, but a cigarette hangs between his lips as usual. Before long, the papers they gathered are spread out over his table, covering the tools he’d been using to fix himself up with.

“It was a difficult story to sell, me being robbed at gunpoint.” Nick tells them as he goes over a piece of paper, painfully aware of the tall stack beside it. “But I managed to lead them away, told them he was headed in the opposite direction you were. I didn’t send them after you.”

“Blue, show him the paper you found.” Piper feels that will explain it. She watches as Nick thoughtfully strokes his chin as he tries to contemplate where this fits with everything, so she’ll tell him exactly what he’s trying to figure out. “There was no blood on the body, Nick. Only on his head and the walls and the floors. This was inside his suit pocket. Someone planted this on him after he was shot.”

“I see. So our killer couldn’t make it look like it was you who murdered him, it was too difficult to do. He planted this to discredit you, make it look like it was at least your fault. I was coming home late when I saw him double back in to plant the paper and jump outside, tried to stop him and he got away. He must’ve reported it to the guards immediately so they’d find it before I could.” Nick blows out a breath of smoke.

“Exactly what I was thinking.” Piper nods in agreement with his theory. “I think we both have the same prime suspect.”

 _And I’m the only one who’s lagging behind._ Snake lets out a huff.

“Oh, I don’t need a list of suspects. I know who it is. It’s impossible for a human to fight like he did.” The detective says this with certainty. He knows the difference between a cloaking device and a stealth boy. The latter can’t be activated by willpower alone. “We’re dealing with an Institute synth who’s getting rid of McDonough because they know he’s been exposed by you.”

“You’re on the Institute’s radar now.” Snake continues his line of thought. “Best to lay low before you get _another_ synth sent to kill you.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing we’re heading out at first light.” Piper murmurs. Laying low isn’t an easy in Diamond City, not with the onslaught of guards crawling the area the next few days.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll look over the papers you brought me and I’ll find you in Goodneighbor if I spot anything new. I just need a bit to finish up my repairs.” He leers at the cardboard box tucked by his feet under his table, frowning at the sight of Kellogg’s disembodied head inside it. “You have to bring him too, huh?”

Snake won’t bring up how he seems almost upset that the unsettling piece will be gone. “Ugh, I’m so covering that up with something. Can’t you close his eyes, at least? I don’t think I’m gonna sleep at all with that around.”

“It’s five in the morning, my friend.” Nick smiles faintly. “I don’t think you even have time for a nap, much less sleep.”

Well, damn. It hasn’t even been their first day back in action and they’re already getting reacquainted with sleep deprivation. “I’ll get my clothes from Becky and meet you back at the office.” Snake stands up, giving the synth detective a nod. “I’ll see you soon.”

“I believe you will.” Nick gives her a tired smile. As they leave, his eyes are fixed on the cardboard box under Piper’s arm.

The door closes behind them and they silently walk for a while. “I’m gonna get my clothes from Becky. I’ll meet you back at the office and we’ll head out?”

“I’ll just come with you.” Piper responds almost lifelessly. She saw the eyes transfixed onto her back as she exited the agency. That’s never happened before, not in the almost nine years she’s known Nick. It’s more than a little bit unsettling.

“Don’t you want to say goodbye to Nat? You probably won’t be back for a while...” Snake nudges her softly.

“C’mon, Blue. She’s growing up.” Her smile lacks it’s usual genuineness. “She has to learn to be a bit more... independent, right?”

Snake would stop right in her tracks if she wasn’t worried about being stopped by some guards. “She already is, Piper. I just think you’re going to regret not being with her every chance you get, is all.” She pauses, her voice growing ever a little softer. “They grow up so fast, you know. It’s time you’ll never get back.”

 _Lost time._ Piper stops walking in her tracks, looking at the office door. The birds are beginning to chirp and the sun is peeking out. She won’t have a lot of time. _You’d know a lot about that._ “I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”

“Okay.” Snake looks back, but only briefly as she bids her farewell. “I won’t be long.”

Piper fumbles with her keys before she manages to unlock the door and come inside, closing the door quietly behind her. It’s still quite dark inside but she can hear Nat stirring in her sleep in response to the small noise. She sits at the side of her bed and the girl’s eyes open as the wood creaks under her sister’s weight.

“Hey.”

Nat blinks sleepily at her. “Hey.”

Piper sighs, wondering where to even start.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking my sweet time with this one. I have a full courseload in the summer and it's exactly as fun as it sounds.

Snake’s hand only grazes the door before it flies open. She steps back, narrowly missing getting smacked in the face by the rusted metal. Piper closes it behind her quickly, her messenger bag full and her gun on her hip. “Whoa there, you almost broke my nose.”

“Sorry.” Piper’s looks down guiltily, her shoulders sagging. She has the veteran’s backpack in her hand. “Let’s go, we should probably hurry since we’re behind already.”

A quick glance towards her pip boy confirms that they’re not. She leans down to get a better view and grows worried when she notices the downtrodden look on her face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Piper mumbles the obvious lie and walks past her to head up the stairs, hoping she’ll let it go. 

Snake does for a while, at least. She holds her tongue even after they exit the gates, discontent yet dutifully staying in silence beside the reporter as they make their way towards Goodneighbor. She keeps up with the brisk pace the other woman keeps but she finally says something two hours in. “That’s your seventh sigh since we left Diamond City, Piper.”

“Is it?” Piper asks and finishes off her question with another sigh. “I’m sorry, Blue. I know we’ve both been looking forward to tonight.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me.” While she honestly can’t wait to get all dressed up later, Snake thought the aim was to not let their guard down no matter what. Fun wasn’t in the books, although it was implied. “I just want to know what’s going on with you, that’s all.”

There’s no easy way to tell her this. “I went to say goodbye to Nat, at least for the next little while, and she was _super_ not happy.” Piper looks down dejectedly, looking as deflated as a popped balloon. Her eyes dart to the woman at her side, her look fleeting and slightly curious. “Blue, did you tell her we were together?”

“Nope, she figured that out all on her own. I thought you did.” Snake uneasily fixes the stray strand of hair that escaped from her ponytail. She knows exactly where this is going. “Well, we didn’t really put in much of an effort to hide it...”

And that was because there wasn’t any reason to. “She just thought I liked getting shot at with you out here more than I liked being with her, that’s all.” Piper can’t help the smile that makes it to her face when she sees Snake’s uncharacteristically pleading eyes. She doesn’t think the woman even knows she’s making that expression. “So you can stop looking at me like that. We’re not going to the dog pound and I’m not dropping you off there.”

Piper’s sigh turns out to be contagious because Snake unwittingly finds herself doing it too. She contemplates her words for a while, only her footsteps filling the pregnant silence. “I’m sorry if I caused trouble for you and Nat.”

“You didn’t cause trouble.” Piper spells it out clearly, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’ve been nothing but really sweet. Nat’s just throwing a tantrum because she’s growing into a teenager and teenagers do that.” _And because I haven’t been paying enough attention to her._ She shooes the thought away, promising she’ll deal with that when she has the time.

“You know I could get a room at-” Snake’s sentence doesn’t reach it’s ending. Her eyes flit towards the side and fires her pistol before Piper can even see what she’s aiming at.

The loud gunshot makes her jump. It only makes her more nervous to recognize how that only happens when she’s been out of the action for a while and that the last time that’s happened was never. The feral ghoul lies dead on the ground, it’s partially decomposed head caved in by the force of a bullet. It looks more like a cracked open can of beans on the ground than something that was once human.

“You don’t ever get rusty, don’t you?” Piper asks once it’s quiet enough for them to start walking again.

“I _am_ rusty.” Snake doesn’t sound proud of her admission, glancing behind her just to be sure that there aren’t more.

The reporter whistles. “I’d love to see you when you’re not anymore, then.”

They both expected trouble in Goodneighbor the moment they went through the front gates. The name of the town itself is synonymous with trouble but Piper only grows more suspicious when the town residents give them a wide berth. They walk around them like small fish, never coming too close. When a ginger with a scowl almost as prominent as her freckles catches sight of them and clicks her tongue loudly, she knows something is up.

“Well, well, well.” A voice that’s rough yet somehow smooth all at once comes from besides her. A ghoul dressed in clothes that belong hundreds of years ago chuckles lightly at the sight of them. “I was hoping I’d see the two of you again.”

“Do I know you?” Snake’s question sounds almost bored but her hand isn’t far from her pistol. She looks around subtly, aware of the man’s amused grin.

“No, but I do know of you. You can relax. It’s bad practice for a mayor to try to kill visitors.” His eyes are cloudy but sharp. His upturned smirk grows stronger. “I’m not _that_ suicidal.”

“Before you ask, I’m really broke and I can’t pay you for the damages from last time.” She gets right to the point. It’s not like this place could be much worse, anyway. At least the smell of blood must have covered up the stink of piss and puke around here. “Sorry we made a mess but we were the ones who were jumped.”

“I wasn’t going to ask. Your attackers got what they deserved, as it should be. I merely wanted to introduce myself.” He holds his hand out with a knowing smile. It’s not spotless but it is clean, although it reeks of smoke. “Just call me Hancock. I just wanted to tell you about your complimentary room at the best room in Hotel Rexford and that I hope you three enjoy the open bar tonight.”

Snake reluctantly shakes his hand but her face doesn’t betray her confusion. “You’re not talking about the dog, are you?”

“No.” Hancock smiles enigmatically. “Your friend booked the entire bar for the night. It’s all free, of course. I’m no cap launderer, especially for a pal.”

Hancock and Deacon? Piper knew that Railroad agents have been around Goodneighbor but she always assumed that the mayor was just too high to care. “Thanks? That’s really nice of you.” She says almost to herself.

“Oh, Piper. No one’s good enough for you.” He chuckles with good humor upon noticing the surprise in her voice. “I’ll even bring out my expensive liquor and a pack of my good smokes out for you tonight. I don’t need to be your best friend to let you know I like what you do.”

Piper watches him walk away as if he knows he’s only going to be pelted with more questions than he deems necessary. “Now that’s the most suspicious thing I’ve seen all day.” She murmurs once he’s out of sight.

“A mayor offering you help without strings attached? That’s sketchy, all right.” Snake agrees with her and continues her walk to the hotel. That entire encounter only makes her more on edge than she’s been this entire day, and that’s really saying something. “I can practically hear you thinking right now. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“We’ll talk once we get to the hotel.” Piper replies shortly, feeling the eyes of the city’s regulars on her back. She’ll never get used to that, no matter how often she passes by here.

Hotel Rexford is as disgusting as it’s always been, but with a few more bullet holes that no one even bothered to patch up. It looks almost like it matches the entire mess around here. It still smells of chems and disgusting homemade alcohol and the same bored looking clerk is at the table.

“You again?” She rolls her eyes in a perfect circle before getting back to the yellowed novel she was reading. She slides the keys over lazily, not even bothering to make eye contact with either of them. “Top floor, same room as before. Just don’t shoot up the place again.”

Snake feels like she should be surprised by her complete indifference but she reminds herself that this woman must have spent ages working in a hotel in Goodneighbor. She’s probably seen some things that could give even her a run for her money. “As long as no one starts shooting at us first.”

“Yeah, yeah, come over any time.” The clerk feels the confused looks aimed at her and she lazily flips to the next page. With how faded the letters are, she’s bound to be blind soon if she keeps trying to read in this dim lighting. “Word travels fast in Goodneighbor. After that bloodbath that happened last time, troublemakers won’t be having their business around here with you two around.”

“I wouldn’t be able to ask you to wash the sheets a bit better as thanks, would I?” Piper chuckles to herself.

“Honey, what makes you think we wash ‘em at all?” She looks up at her, bemused. She backtracks when she sees the barely concealed disgust on both women’s faces. “I’m joking.”

“We’ll just... uh, get out of your hair.” Piper doesn’t want to stick around long enough to find out whether she was just saying that to save her own hide or not.

Snake waits until they’re far enough that the clerk will have no chance of hearing her words. “That was such a lie.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Piper gets shivers at the very thought of sleeping on that bed again. “We’re laying the tent over the mattress because I’m not inhaling a lungful of mold in my sleep.”

There’s no time to enjoy the room once they get inside. Snake immediately takes back her preconception after seeing the neatly cornered sheets and the covers that go over them. They look a whole lot less brown and the stink that seems to permeate every dark alley of Goodneighbor is significantly less pungent. “Guess she wasn’t kidding.” She murmurs as she sets down her bag.

A full bottle of bourbon and a pack of cigarettes sit on the nightstand, perfectly posed as if beckoning for her. “Hancock.” Piper concludes. No one else could tell the staff here to clean a room this well and if getting her laid and giving her smokes to enjoy afterwards is his idea of an olive branch, she might just accept it begrudgingly.

“What’s the deal with that guy?” Snake asks her as she plops down on the bed. Surprisingly, there’s no cloud of dust that flies out as she does so.

“I’ve had to swap info with him before.” Piper tells her candidly while she unpacks her things on the table. “You could argue that he’s not the best guy to be around, given that he’s a mayor and doesn’t do much mayoring.”

“I sense a ‘but’ here.”

“Goodneighbor is the bad part of the Commonwealth, and all of the Commonwealth is bad already.” She sighs, furrowing her brows. “But he is really honest and he’s let me hide in his town a few times when I was in trouble, even if I gave him a hard time about just about everything in this town. And he’s the only mayor of any settlement I’ve been to that’s openly taking ghouls.”

“Sounds like he’s someone to watch out for.” _For better or_ _for_ _worse._ Snake holds her neatly folded clothes under her arm. “You can take the bathroom, by the way. I’ll get dressed really quickly and do a quick circle around to make sure no nasty surprises are waiting for us when we get to the Third Rail.”

“Gotcha. I’ll meet you in front of the bar with ol’ Kellogg with me.” Never in a million years would she think those words would come out of her mouth. A part of her feels wary being around anything belonging to the grizzled mercenary, even if it’s his disembodied head.

Piper feels quite fortunate to have found a shade of lipstick that matches her simple cocktail dress. It takes her not too long to put it on and straighten out the wrinkles that accumulated over their travel here. Still, she finds herself paranoid and constantly looking over to the side to make sure the head is where it should be. She even has to redo her lipstick once or twice because she’s not looking at the mirror like she’s supposed to. The goosebumps are so vivid that she can see them on every inch of exposed skin on her, from her shoulders and arms to her thighs and calves. She’s thankful that the Third Rail isn’t far at all from the hotel because she’s bound to get a bit chilly in this by the time it’s night time.

She wouldn’t admit this but she does take an extra minute or two making sure her hair falls just right. It’s the first time she’s put on this dress in a while and she wants to be certain that it still fits right. The single strap covers the rather obvious scar on the shoulder she got from her tangle with Kellogg and her arms have gotten a degree or two more defined than they were the last time she really looked at her own reflection. The red dress ends a fair distance above her knees, far enough for her to be sure she’ll have to remind Snake to keep her eyes on Deacon and nothing else later.

After a brief scrub of her black heels to make sure there are no stains, she locks the door behind her and hurries down. The clacking of her shoes fills the silence as she goes down the stairs. At least she’ll be rid of that stupid head soon. By the time she gets to the front of the Third Rail, Snake is checking the time on her pip boy for the third time already and a small frown is on her face but she predictably perks up when she sees the reporter approaching.

“Sorry I took so long.” Piper quickly apologizes. She holds her bulging purse awkwardly far away from her body.

“Don’t worry about it, the area’s as clear as it can be in this hellhole.” Snake’s eyes can’t seem to decide where they should be looking. Between the trim waist that’s tastefully hugged by the red fabric around them and the toned set of legs on top of those heels, they follow every move the black haired woman makes as she comes closer. She quickly brings her gaze back to her face when she realizes how long she’s been staring, smiling politely. “You definitely made good use of that time, babe.”

“And look at you. You look great in blue.” Piper can’t miss the husky note of want in her voice but she simply returns her smile with her own, it’s sweetness contrasting her sinfully red lips. The first thing she thinks is that Becky really does know what she’s doing. The navy blazer could have looked faded and ill fitting on the vault dweller’s shapely frame but it’s anything but. She can still see her favorite curves on the taller woman’s body and the white button up shirt layered underneath is the whitest she’s seen in this day and age. Her thick chestnut hair is let down and it frames the hint of cleavage revealed by the undone top two buttons of her shirt. “Did Becky not have a tie lying around?”

Snake gives her a look at that question. “Have you ever seen a man get choked by his own tie?”

“No. Have you?” She does have to admit that would be a horrifying way to die, though. All the spies in the comic books she’s ever read wears them and now she’ll never be able to reread those and not wonder if they could have chosen something at least a bit safer to wear on their top secret missions.

“Yeah. I felt so sorry for him I had to shoot him dead anyway.” Snake’s smile makes it hard for the other woman to know if she’s joking or not. She takes a step forward with her immaculately shined shoes and affectionately strokes her cheek. “You look gorgeous.”

Piper blushes lightly at her compliment. “You do too.” Her voice trails off at the end of her sentence. Until now, she’s never been tall enough to look at her eyes this closely. Maybe she’s just thinking this because she’s a young woman drunk with adoration but it’s almost mesmerizing, the way the dingy yellow lights melt into the striking blue. “Are you ready for this?”

Snake nods surely, holding up her hand. She turns to the door when she receives Piper’s purse, sensing how glad she is to have it off her hands. “Let me get the door for you.”

The reporter lets her eyes fall down as the veteran budges the doors open. Those trousers really do look deliciously snug around her bottom.

Deacon swivels around on the bar stool when he hears their footsteps. “Good evening, ladies.” He greets them enthusiastically and raises an eyebrow at the rather full purse in Snake’s hand. “Is that a present for me? I hope it’s cake.”

Snake smirks smugly with her hand in her pocket, Piper’s arm looped comfortably around hers. “It’s better than cake.” She tells him before she unzips it and tosses out it’s contents. Kellogg’s head comes rolling out at him like a bowling ball, bouncing sickeningly once or twice before it comes to a stop at the bottom of his feet.

It has never been this hard for Deacon to keep a straight face. The eerily fresh head leaves a few droplets of blood on the floor that someone will have to mop off later and it’s eyes are left opened, giving him a view of the exact look of terror on the mercenary’s face as he met his demise. “Well, now.” His voice shakes more than he’d like as he gives it a once over. “You actually did it.”

“Yeah, we pumped enough bullets in him to kill five deathclaws but the asshole just wouldn’t stay down.” Snake lets Piper take a seat next to the Railroad agent before she does. “So I gave him something he wasn’t going to walk off.”

“Told you she was the real deal.” Piper adds in with a knowing smile.

“This calls for a toast, then.” Deacon chuckles and walks behind the bar, pouring himself a fair amount of what smells like gin. He’ll definitely need a few drinks to keep that face away from his dreams tonight, especially if he’ll be taking it back to Desdemona as agreed. He pinches two glasses with his fingers and brings them onto the bar. “Drinks are on the house. What would you like?”

Piper had warned her that Deacon might try to loosen their lips with a few drinks. Luckily for her, she can handle her liquor. “Dark rum, or if there’s none, whatever doesn’t have piss in it.”

Deacon nods and the expression on his face is unreadable as usual. “The usual for you, Piper?” He asks as he pours a hefty amount of rum into the glass.

“Sure.” He gives her a hefty amount of tequila but she doesn’t complain. She was going to ask for it anyway, given that she can only overlook the taste of anything served in here if she’s drunk enough.

“So...” He passes them the glasses, sitting back down. “How did you do it?”

“I just told you.” Snake takes a drink and keeps her face as straight as it can be.

Deacon blinks blankly. “It couldn’t have been that easy, though. You have no idea what kind of trouble this guy was for just about everyone that crossed paths with him.”

“Oh, we know.” Piper gives him a meaningful look that she follows with a big gulp. The fire burns a trail down to her belly, a heat she didn’t know she needed over the stressful last while. “C’mon, Deacon, it shouldn’t matter now. Your job’s going to get a whole lot easier because of this.”

“It already has.” He gives them a thin smile. The roads have gotten a lot less perilous with Kellogg out of the picture and that’s how he figured out how long ago they got rid of him. The Railroad agent assumed that they waited this long to contact him because they were recovering from the battle he’s glad he wasn’t a part of. “So... you already know who I represent. We wouldn’t be talking right now if you weren’t smart enough to figure it out already.”

“And I think we both know our interests align.” Snake continues his line of reasoning as she swirls the dark liquid in her glass, silently wishing they had ice here. “I want to get inside of the Institute.”

The corner of Deacon’s lip twitches. “I don’t know what Piper has told you, but I’m not into suicide missions.”

“And then I’m going to blow it up.” Snake doesn’t sound like she’s heeding his words. “I’m going to make it go up in flames, all of it.”

He asks her the most obvious question. “Why?”

“They took something from me.” She keeps her answer vague and short, just like Piper told her to. “I’m going to take it back and make sure the Institute won’t be able to mess with me or anyone else ever again.”

No matter how hard he’s trying, he’s sure Piper can see the doubt in his silence. It’s been growing harder and harder for him to make decisions based on good reasoning instead of pure desperation and right now he’s just trying to make use of the former rather than the latter.

“I’m not asking to join your organization, Deacon. I can’t disappear for months on end doing errands for you because I have my own stuff to do.” Snake sets her empty glass down on the bar with a sharp clack and she finally looks at him, her blue eyes still sharp despite the drink she just downed. There’s something about them that gives him shivers, like they’re staring right into his soul despite the dark glasses that’s supposed to separate him from her. “You’re probably figured out that I’m the leader of the minutemen. Well, we’re expanding. Your men need inconspicuous places to hide and I can provide them with those. I’d also not mind spraying a few bullets for you every now and then.”

Despite the lightness of those words, the head laying at his feet truly reminds him of the things she’s capable of.

“You’re not only going to get her help, but mine too.” Piper adds, seeing the gears in his head turn. “You know my word is good, Deacon. I’ve thought this out and I know we can help each other out.”

He does know that the infamous reporter’s words aren’t to be taken lightly. More importantly, he and everyone back at headquarters are painfully aware that they’re severely lacking in unstoppable juggernauts that can mow down everyone in their paths. “You two drive quite the hard bargain here. Is that what your little present is? Just a little something to show me what you can do?” He can’t help but let out a little helpless chuckle. “If so, then I’ll have to tell you that you’ve done that and more. We’ve got a deal.”

Piper grins widely. She knew there was no way he could pass that up. “So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty bits.” She gets right to it before he can change his mind. “We need to find a way to get into the Institute.”

Deacon smiles apologetically. “I’m afraid even we haven’t figured that out.”

Snake frowns. They had hoped that the Railroad would at least have a lead to follow up on but this seems like just a minor inconvenience in comparison to everything else they’ve done to get here. “You really don’t have anything?”

He sighs and shakes his head, taking a moment to finish his drink. “No, but someone must know. Institute synths will never reveal anything but...” He trails off.

“But?” Piper doesn’t mean to come off as impatient but the look of realization on his face has her wondering.

“Kellogg must’ve known. Did you check his base?” He asks them hopefully.

Piper nods. “I didn’t, but Nick did. He didn’t find anything about that. Speaking of which...” She reaches into her purse, taking out a file. “Here’s everything we found there.”

“There it is. I’ll give this a look when I get back.” Deacon beams as he takes it and securely puts it in his jacket. Piper will never figure out how he manages to fit all sorts of knick knacks in there and not look like a turtle but she swears she’ll find out one day. “I was about to say that I might have a way around that. Kellogg was a hell of a mercenary so I wasn’t surprised to hear that he didn’t leave us too many goodies, especially nothing that would lead us directly to the Institute. But he must have _know_ _n_ how to get in there, at least.”

Both Piper and Snake lost him somewhere there. The black haired woman retraces his words just to be certain that her mildly boozed up state hasn’t dulled her wit. “And you’re saying...”

“Have you ever been to the Memory Den, my new extremely dangerous friend?” Deacon turns to Snake.

Her eyes narrow. “Can’t say that I have.”

“They’ve got this machine that lets you relive memories from the past. You’d think that the chem problem here is bad enough until you see how many people would fork over all their money just to relive the best parts of their lives over and over again.” The way Deacon says it makes Piper wonder if he’s ever used the place’s services in the past. The wistful look on his face confirms that he probably has. She’s learned to read the little cues that he gives over the times they’ve talked.

Snake noticed it too, it seems. “ That’s not really up my alley. There’s no better time than the present, at least for me.”

 _Interesting_. “You’re a lucky woman, then.” Deacon gets right to the point. “I have an associate there. I’m going to admit this might be a long shot but it was probably a good idea for you to bring his head here.”

“You can’t be saying what I think you’re saying.” Piper shudders.

“My colleague could hook him up, but I know someone else will have to be on the other end to see what’s in his little head.” Deacon looks to Snake hopefully.

“I’ll do it.” She volunteers, the doubt in her voice barely registered by the other two.

Deacon’s eyes flit towards the head on the floor. “You killed him a while ago, didn’t you? Does the head look unnaturally fresh to anyone or is it just me?”

“We know Kellogg isn’t entirely human, Deacon.” Piper says, getting a bit annoyed. This man has no idea how to say anything straight.

“Yeah, I’m not sure how a human brain will stack up to his.” He clicks his tongue as he considers the possibilities. The Railroad agent pours himself another drink and pushes it to the two women, allowing them to do the same. “Your head might explode, or he might explode, or you both might explode. Or you might become the same person, I don’t know.”

That’s not a very ideal situation. Snake thinks about their options here but this crazy idea is the only one on the table. They all stay quiet as they sip their drinks and try to make them last long enough until one of them comes up with a less potentially lethal idea. By the time the minutes have passed, all she’s getting is more drunk and no lightbulbs are sparking to life in her head.

A knock interrupts them from their joined reverie.

“I have this place booked for the entire night.” Deacon tells them suspiciously as his hand lands on the pistol on the inside of his jacket.

The possibility that it could just be an upset patron wanting his booze crosses their minds when the knocking starts again, louder this time. Snake gets off her stool, her gait swaying somewhat as she goes to answer the door without being asked to. Her gun is at the ready and she just wishes that there were any peep holes to look through on this damn door.

“It’s me.” The distinctive voice from the other side of the door makes them all breathe a sigh of relief.

Snake doesn’t holster her gun yet, though she does open the door. “Hey, Nick.”

“Nice to see you again.” Deacon greets earnestly, his brows furrowing in deep thought. A non Institute synth who also happens to be a more than competent investigator with similar interests to theirs. “Huh...”

Piper follows this time. “Huh.”

Nick raises a nonexistent eyebrow at them both. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... I'm excited to go poke around Kellogg's brain in the next chapter. I hope Deacon wasn't OOC, I know he wouldn't normally take risks like this but the Railroad is pretty desperate at the moment and I always thought he and Piper would have enough professional respect for each other to do join forces, even if it's just temporarily. 
> 
> Everyone knows everyone in this story lol.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I know it's been a while but I swear I haven't forgotten about you guys, I'm just buried in piles and piles of schoolwork. I'm talking so many papers that finally writing in something that's not Times New Roman in 12 blew my mind. 
> 
> Buuuut, there was a long weekend here in Canada so I thought I'd utilize that time to write this chapter. Hope some of you are still out there lol. As always, I try my hardest to not take ages between each update but I also really don't want my average to go down, so see you next time!

Nick agrees far too quickly to getting his head plugged in with Kellogg’s. He gets the cheapest room there is in the hotel and tells his human companions to get some rest, clearly too eager for tomorrow to come.

And Snake thought the idea of getting into Kellogg’s head couldn’t be more uncomfortable. Now she has to deal with him being far too eager for this too. “Well, that was a really sobering conversation.” She pours herself a glass of the bourbon gifted to them by Hancock. The amber liquid sloshes around until she tilts the bottle back and pours Piper one as well. “Code word is ‘beans’. If I don’t know it when I wake up, then Kellogg’s possessed me and you should probably blow my head open.”

Piper plops down tiredly on her chair, picking up her glass and toasting the other woman before she goes for a deep drink. “I’ll ask you that the next time you’re going to see me naked.” She hopes the rush of burning liquor down her throat will push away the terrifying thought of that ever happening. The hold around her glass tightens a bit when she sets it down harder than she means to, biting her lip. “Do you really think that might happen?”

“I sure fucking hope not.” Snake throws her blazer onto the chair, rolling up the sleeves of her button up shirt. Goosebumps form on her forearms as she thinks of the possibility. As much as she’d like to slouch and relax, she finds herself unable to. It feels just like she’s back in basic training, standing straight for her morning count.

Piper’s is already habitually putting a cigarette into her mouth. As inebriated as she is, the practiced motion of flicking her lighter open is something she can’t ever mess up. When the end of the end burns bright with fire, she takes a deep inhale that comes back out in an anxious sigh.

A wry smile makes it’s way onto Snake’s face. “That’s one long sigh, Piper.”

The reporter pulls the cigarette away with her two fingers, spinning it around so that the older woman can see the hint of red from her lipstick smudged onto the filter. “You wanna share this with me, Blue?”

“Sure.” The answer leaves her mouth before her mind can properly process it. Smoking has never been her vice and she has a feeling it won’t be, not anytime soon.

Piper watches as those pink lips close over the tan filter, tightening it’s hold as she breathes in. Her eyes flit up to meet hers, the blue spheres blinking in hesitation. A part of her wants nothing more than to put out this smoke so her thumb can be free to stroke those wonderfully inviting lips.

And then Snake coughs. She immediately pulls back, hacking out little clouds of smoke and feebly positioning her hand in front of her mouth as if it’ll do anything to hide the look of aversion on her face. Her hand finds the closest glass she can find and she lifts it to her mouth in hopes that the water will soothe her angry throat.

“Wait-” Piper tries to warn her but she can only say so much before the bourbon completely disappears.

Right. That was not water. Tears form in her eyes when Snake realizes that her burnt throat feels more like a forest fire now and it’s all her fault. She hears the sound of giggling and looks up, a mockingly disgruntled look about her as she let out her last coughs. “That was not my best moment.” She chokes out, tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes.

The Diamond City reporter can’t help but laugh at her face. “Real smooth, Blue. I guess this one’s all for me. You could’ve told me you didn’t like the taste.” She scoots in closer to pat the vault dweller’s back until she’s certain the other woman isn’t dying.

Indeed, Snake’s voice sounds a fair bit raspier and her glassy eyes look up, the bloodshot veins standing out all the more in contrast to the light blue. She still manages a smile, however small it may be. “Hey, I made you laugh, didn’t I?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m laughing with you or at you?” Piper tries to not chortle too much as she strokes her back soothingly.

“Nah. I know you were laughing at me.” Despite how wounded her pride should be, it soars when she hears another laugh from the Diamond City resident. She gives her the best pout she has and adds a little nudge to it. “There’s a first time for everything, I guess.”

“Oh, Blue. Poor you.” Piper clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “I’ve been laughing at you all along. Have you seen yourself in the kitchen?”

“Please don’t rub salt in the wound.” She weakly retorts. “And hey, isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?”

Piper’s resolve crumbles at the sight of her deflation, however joking it may be. She lifts the vault dweller’s chin up, looking at her hazy eyes. “Hey, you’re not good at making food or smoking, but there are some other things that you’re good at.” Her lips inch closer to her’s, so close she can smell the liquor on her breath. The reporter’s eyes close in anticipation. “ _Really_ good at...”

“Are you talking about massages? ‘Cause I’m really good at those...” The corner of Snake’s lip rises devilishly.

“You do have some pretty talented hands.” Piper’s voice falls to a husky whisper as their lips meet. “But that’s not what I was getting at.”

“It’s not crosswords, is it?” Snake feigns ignorance as she slips an arm around her shoulder, resuming their kiss. “You might be better at those than I am...”

Piper would shake her head if only she wasn’t so adamant on keeping her mouth on those sweet, sultry lips. “I was thinking more along the lines of this.” She takes the veteran’s hand, trailing it over the smooth skin of her thighs.

Snake expects the smooth cotton of her panties under her fingertips as they graze higher and closer but she’s pleasantly surprised to feel something thin and lightly patterned. It’s a texture she hasn’t felt in a long time. “Only you would know how to find lacy underwear in a nuclear apocalypse.”

Piper takes that as a good sign. “It’s a matching set.” She tells her in a suggestive tone.

“You’ll have to take me where you bought these next time.” Her hands trail higher, hiking the dress up in curiosity. Her voice lowers to a lusty timbre as her eyes land on the see through fabric, completely ignoring the intricate pattern in favor of the soft and delicate skin that lies behind it. “I could use an upgrade myself.”

“Do that, Blue, and I might just keep you all to myself for a week or two.” Piper grins proudly when the dress is slipped over her head. She feels the hot breath lingering around her breasts, Snake’s trembling lips hesitating from touching her as if her eyes aren’t just finished feasting yet. She tilts her chin up after a few seconds of silence. “Are you just going to look? I pegged you for a doer.”

Snake’s answer dies in her throat when she finds herself focusing instead on the trail of undone buttons left behind by the reporter’s nimble fingers. The pad of her own thumb hesitates to slip under the dark fabric of those delectably small panties. “You’re saying you put these on just so I can take them off?” She chuckles lightly as the shirt falls from her shoulders. “I don’t know, they’re almost too pretty for me to take off.”

Piper feels the goosebumps on the vault dweller’s skin as her own lips leave streaks of red down the length of her neck, marking the flushed strip of skin and delighting in the sound that comes out of her throat. It doesn’t take very much to make the vault dweller reconsider her words.

The knocking on the door that comes the morning after makes Snake’s eye twitch. She groans and rubs her eyes as she carefully gets up, carefully removing Piper’s hand from her midsection. The reporter curls into the blankets comfortably, mumbling something in her sleep.

“Alright, alright. I’m coming.” Snake grumbles in annoyance at the sound. She pulls on her underwear and her shirt, but her trigger finger starts to itch when the knocking still doesn’t stop. Murmuring all the curse words she knows, and she knows a lot, she doesn’t even bother putting on her pants before she heads for the door with her gun in hand. “What do you want?” She speaks without opening the door. No one is up this early on a Saturday, and definitely not in Goodneighbor.

“For you to get your butt out because we were supposed to meet half an hour ago.” Nick says from behind the door.

Snake looks at her pip-boy. It’s half before nine. She is late. She opens the door and smiles sheepishly at the detective. “Uh, sorry. I overslept.”

Nick’s eyes wander down, not to her chest, but to the lipstick marks partially covered by the waistband of her underwear. He doesn’t have eyebrows, but if he did, a single one would be rising very sharply right now. “I see that I don’t need to ask how the rest of your night went.”

Snake retreats back and partially closes the door, cheeks heavily flushing at her blunder. “We’ll be out quick. I’ll meet you downstairs?”

“Gotcha.” Despite his amicable answer, something in his voice tells her his patience isn’t as thick as it usually is today.

“Piper, time to get up.” She lightly shakes her shoulder, but the brunette can’t bear to raise her voice at her. “Hey. I have ice cream for you.” No response. “I lied. What am I thinking? You probably haven’t even had ice cream.”

Snake knows she barely even tried, but a warm smile spreads across her face when all she hears in response is the steady rhythm of her breathing. She doesn’t even realize she’s doing it, but her hand moves away and brushes away the dark hair from her cheek. Nick would be so pissed if he saw her just sitting here instead of rushing to meet him.

That’s why not later than five minutes after that, she shows up downstairs fully dressed and with Kellogg’s head in her bag. “Where’s Piper?” Nick asks her when he sees that the younger woman isn’t with her.

“She’s pretty worn out.” Snake tells him honestly. “I thought I’d let her sleep in. Left Dogmeat back with her.”

“Are you ready for this?” By the sound of it, he’s far too ready.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” And that’s a lie. She’s not, but that’s not going to stop her.

Piper dreams in black and white, her vision flickering like the screen of an old TV. She can smell oil and smoke in the air, as strong as the sounds of engines and chatter in the background. She looks down at her hand, which scribbles something incomprehensible in her notepad. “That’s... a really unexpected answer, coming from you.”

The marine who liberated Alaska sheepishly looks down. She’s smiling, even if half her face is somehow simultaneously numb and itchy from the chems and bandages. Her formal uniform is crisp, despite the minor wrinkle that she tries to discreetly smooth out. “What do you mean by that?”

“Off the record?” Piper flips her notepad shut and clicks her pen. “Just about everything about you has been surprising. I thought it was a longshot to ask you for an interview.” She can’t see her own face but she knows her own words. Embarrassment. It’s weird to have to guess what yourself is trying to hide, even if it’s in a dream. “I never thought you’d say yes, or be so... sweet.”

The woman cocks her head to the side. There’s that stupidly adorable look of confusion on her face, or what’s visible of it. “I don’t think I have a reputation for being nasty to reporters...”

“That’s just it, though. You have so many other reporters who can get you on the radio, all that jazz.” She doesn’t want to admit it. While she’s bent on keeping her newspaper free, there’s also a reason why no one wants to advertise on it. “Plus, I’ve been known to ask some pretty difficult questions.”

“I know. The hard questions are the ones that need to be answered, isn’t that right?” She doesn’t seem the least bit surprised but she still looks a bit embarrassed as she says her next words. “I ask one of my friends to read them to me over the radio when I’m on rotation.”

Piper doesn’t know what to say. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, but now that I’m back, I can pick them up myself.” She coughs awkwardly into her hand. “What I meant was... um, can I stop by your office and bring you a coffee and something sweet some time? Maybe tonight?”

“Coffee and something sweet. Now you’re speaking my language.” Piper can feel her cheeks hurt from grinning too hard. “And sure. Tonight sounds great. Don’t mind the broken window, someone threw a brick through it last night.”

“It’s probably one of the McDonough’s lackeys.” She jokes, beaming when she sees the black haired woman laugh in return.

Piper flips her notepad open and scribbles something down. She rips out the piece of paper and hands it to the woman. Her heart jumps as their hands touch. “Here’s my address. See you at... say, eight?”

The grin that splits on the marine’s face as she receives the piece of paper is almost embarrassing. It makes her face hurt too. Come to think of it, a lot of things are hurting right now but she’s pretty sure she can still carry two cups of coffee and some donuts over. “I’ll be there.”

All her questions have been asked. All of them have been answered with not even one sidestepping answer at all. Her job is done, but she doesn’t want to leave yet. At this point, she’s just coming up with excuses _not_ to leave. “Actually, are you busy right now?” She blurts this as she puts her notes back into her bag.

There’s a twinkle in the woman’s eyes. “Nope. Technically, I’m supposed to be resting, but where’s the fun in that? Why?”

“Do you wanna go out now?” Piper can feel her cheeks heat up as the hope wells in her chest.

“Yeah. Let’s do it.” She stands up a bit too enthusiastically and winces slightly. “You’ll have to drive, though.”

The world goes whiter and whiter as they approach the rundown car parked on the road. The horizon fades into an empty void as they get in and drive off, presumably into the sunset. Piper wonders if she can’t see them actually do it because she doesn’t know what the world looked like before the war.

Too bad. She’d like to see the end of this dream.

A cold chill wakes the Diamond City reporter, and she sees in color once again. She pulls the covers over her bare shoulders, reaching out to find the warmth of the arms she fell asleep in last night. The heat from the vault dweller’s body has left the sheets, although the indent of her body on the mattress hasn’t.

Piper forces herself to get up, wearing the blanket like a royal cape as she walks towards the glass of water on the table. The lukewarm water washing down her throat is far from refreshing, but at least it’s not irradiated. She rubs her eyes as she uses her other hand to pick up the note left by the water.

_Morning, babe. Thought I’d let you sleep in a little. You look too cute when you drool in your sleep (yeah, you do that) but we’ll be in the Memory Den when you’re up._

_Love, S_

Piper self consciously wipes the corner of her mouth. There’s no drool on the back of her hand. Hopefully, she was just teasing.

She strolls down to Doctor Amari’s office like she’s been there before. The usual scent of med-x is replaced by a hint of sweat, and she can feel the thickness of the tension as soon as she steps in.

Amari doesn’t greet her, although she’s aware of her presence. Her feet shuffle anxiously as she watches Snake and Nick on those chairs of hers. While they’re both supposedly connected, their states couldn’t be any more different. Nick’s hat is set on his lap and his fingers are lightly clutching them, as if he’s trying to distract himself from whatever is putting that scowl on his face.

He looks intense enough, but Snake looks worse. Sweat pours down the bridge of her nose and her brows are furrowed so intently it seems like she could snap at any moment. Her teeth are clenched almost as tight as her fists are.

“How’s everything going?” Piper asks the doctor.

“I’m afraid that I have no idea.” Amari answers, a tremble in her voice. Her eyes don’t leave them for one second. “I warned them both that no one could tell them what might happen. This has never been attempted before, not with a living brain.”

“A _what_?” Piper repeats after her. “Kellogg’s brain is alive and these two knuckleheads are plugging themselves into it?”

“There’s some sort of machine in his brain that pumps this fluid throughout his body. It’s how he’s managed to stay alive for so long. It prevents cell damage and quickly repairs any ones that are damaged, which effectively prevents aging and rapidly heals wounds.” Amari’s eyes dart towards the bloody head she covered with a piece of cloth on her operating table. “It’s a good thing your friend beheaded him. If she’d simply shot him dead, he’d have been up and running again in a matter of days, at most.”

She knows. The veteran did shoot him dead a while ago. “I was surprised he even bled.” She mutters, sitting on the well worn stool by Snake’s side. She takes her handkerchief from her pocket and lightly dabs the sweat from her forehead. Piper lowers her voice, hoping whatever comfort she can give will help. “What did you get yourself into?”

It’s blisteringly hot in here, wherever they are, but Kellogg doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by the temperature as he lounges on the chair in the middle of the room. It looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in ages. The floors are dusty and the lights are yellowed and dim. The view visible through the window shows an unforgiving desert that glows hotly under the California sun’s tyranny.

Despite the large old bloodstain on the floor, there’s no overwhelming feeling of sadness in this place. Just emptiness.

“Why did you show me all that?” Snake can’t help but keep her distance from him, even if she knows he’s just a mind without a body at this point. The absence of her gun in this miserable little world he’s invited her into makes her too uneasy to come any closer.

Also, he did just try to invade her brain. That ought to make anyone wary.

This old leather chair was always his favorite one to sit on. It must be nothing more than junk now that he’s left this house for so long, but it’s still fresh in his mind. The scene around him wavers slightly like ripples of water, a reflection of his memory. He liked to sit here and watch a little television after his long days, but he always cleaned off the barrel of his gun first. His wife never did like weapons on the dinner table, and especially not bloody ones. “Now, now. It’s the first time I’ve opened up in over a century and that’s the response I get? Ouch.” He smiles weakly at her. “Take a seat, will you? I already told you that you’ll get to the Institute soon enough. I’m dead meat, anyway.”

It occurs to her that maybe that’s just what he wants her to think. Snake reluctantly gets the chair from the dinner table, feeling the dust on her fingers as she moves it in front of him. “I’m not going to show you any memories of mine, you bastard.”

“I expected you to say that. Well, there’s nothing I can do about that. After all, you’re the one who’s probing my brain.” Kellogg shakes his head contentedly. The cooperation almost makes her wonder if it’s truly him. “Tell you what, I’m not smart enough to tell you exactly how to get to the Institute, but I can tell you your next target. Just... stay for a bit, would you? Keep a dying man company.”

His voice lacks the bite it used to have. She crosses her arms defiantly. “I’m not going to give you forgiveness so you can move on or some shit like that, okay? You deserved everything that you got.”

A miserable chuckle. “Oh, I know. I hoped you’d soften up after I showed you all that. I thought we weren’t too different, our wives are both dead and we’re both merciless killing machines without them. I was wrong.”

Snake doesn’t know what to say to that.

“Your new lady... did you know I had to use a teleporter just so she wouldn’t sniff me out every time I was in Diamond City? She’s a real pain in the ass, that one.” He strangely doesn’t look too annoyed. “If she were here right now, she’d tell me nothing that happened to me gave me the right to do the things I did. And I would tell her to fuck off.”

“Well, she’s right.” The vault dweller shrugs and rolls her eyes. She crosses one leg over the other, accepting the fact that she might be here for longer than she thought.

“In another world, I’d look down at her just before I blow her head open and tell her she has no idea how it feels to have your wife and kid taken away from you and have it all be your fault. And then I would kill her and leave her for the mongrels to feast on.” There’s that bite again, but it quickly recedes. “But you? Shit, you do know how that feels and you can sit there on your high horse and tell me what an asshole I am and be completely right about it. In fact, you’re doing it right now.”

There’s something that stops her from making a snide remark about how she’s not a priest and this isn’t a confessional. “Do you regret becoming this... whatever it is you are, then?”

Kellogg is quiet for a long time. “I’m starting to. After all, I’m stuck in this prison of my own mind all because I was too angry to let old age take me already. Immortality isn’t an ideal situation when you’re a consciousness stuck with no body.”

Snake scowls. “Figures that’s all you regret.”

There is no way in hell that he would admit this if he was still in his body. “Heh. Looking at how you turned out, I’ll admit that I’m starting to consider that I made the wrong choice. You’re living and that’s more than I’ve done for over a century.”

He isn’t wrong about that. She’s got a woman’s chest to rest her head on every night and some people she’d even call friends. “You sound jealous, Kellogg. Maybe you shouldn’t have become some demented killer if you wanted people to like you.”

Kellogg smirks lazily at her. “You _are_ a demented killer. It takes one to kill another. We’re quite similar in that aspect, but that’s where it ends. You’re simply a far better person than I am and people respect that. When one is as powerful as you and I, it takes a certain kind of woman to not use that power for her own interests.”

Now he’s just going on and on about this. This guy just wants to talk and she just has to listen to over a century’s worth of buried angst. Great.

“Tell me, what are you doing to do once the Institute is taken care of? Don’t look at me like that, I know you’re going to kill everyone in there and maybe rescue a handful of synths that aren’t loyal to them.” He asks her this like an old friend. The only thing missing now is a couple of beers and a dingy pub light.

“After I take down the Institute? Then the work really starts. I’ve got to undo whatever bullshit you people did to set this place back. That means lots of infrastructure, maybe I’ll have Nick take over the guards at Diamond City, set up medical training programs...” It surprises her how easy her words come. They were trying to kill each other the last time they met. “But maybe I’ll take Piper out for a vacation before that. She sure deserves it.”

“Tell me more.” Kellogg implores.

“About?”

“You.” 

Her words come and come, as effortlessly as breathing itself. She talks of the beating of the rain against the canopy of trees above her when she was in the jungle, the elation she felt the first time she hit that target at the shooting range. There was the time she and Nora went wedding cake testing all over Boston and tried every single flavor she could imagine, and then the time she received her badge when she retired to the police force and scratched it on the very first day when she dropped it in the kitchen.

The stories flow easily. She has no worry of this getting out, of course. This consciousness of his wouldn’t last very long after this. The tense lines on Kellogg’s brow loosens and he even starts nodding along to her words, chuckling here and there whenever he found something that amused him. Snake reckons that she’s talked so much that her mouth must be dry right now, if only she were in the real world.

“So you are human, after all.” Kellogg says, moreso to himself than to her.

Snake gives him a look. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve got no mechanical parts, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

“Oh, I know. I our first unofficial meeting took place far before the Institute was formed, after all.” Kellogg smiles wistfully, not moving an inch. It’s almost as if he wished they could talk more. “You’re the last person I’m going to talk to before I die. Sorry for trying to force my way into your head. I just wanted to know if I ever scared you as much as you scared me.”

The surprise on her face is clearly visible to him.

“You did saw my head off. No hard feelings, though.” He laughs softly, shaking his head. His thumb fiddles absentmindedly as if he’s expecting a cigar to show up in his hand.

“That’s pretty sick.” Snake says bluntly. “Not in a good way, either.”

“I think everyone might be wondering if you’re ever going to wake up. As agreed, I’ll tell you everything I know.” He says this despite having no way to check the time. Kellogg gives her a nod of camaraderie, grinning like an old friend. “I’d say I hope you find your son, but I know you will. Just do me a little favor, would you? I know you’re not as heartless as I am.”

Deacon gives Piper a wide berth. “I’m sorry, Piper, but you heard what the doctor said. She placed some countermeasures but it’s not like we know what we’re dealing-”

“She’s been unconscious for _eight hours_ , Deacon, don’t you-” The barrage of curse words dies on Piper’s tongue when she hears a stirring to her side.

Snake’s eyes open just a bit, her groggy blue eyes unfocused as she clutches her head and begins to rise. “God, I feel like I need a shower.”

“You’re awake.” Nick stands and exhales in relief. “We thought you’d never wake up again.”

“Nick? I thought you were plugged in with me.” Snake lets Piper help her up. She’s careful to keep a tight hold on the reporter’s shoulder, noticing that she’s a bit wobbly for her liking.

“Mr. Valentine was ejected shortly after your connection started.” Amari explains to them. She twiddles with her fingers nervously. “I had to pull him out or risk an all out short circuit of his systems.”

“That would entail my head catching on fire.” Nick explains to her, looking none too satisfied. “Kellogg took one look at me and sighed, saying ‘not you again’. The next thing I knew, I ended up back here again.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you came to when you did. Piper here was going to ruin my face and I’m not really in the financial position to get a new one at the moment.” Deacon certainly looks very relieved that Piper’s fists aren’t targeted at his face anymore. He still keeps his distance from her, coughing uncomfortably. “So what did you find out?”

“More importantly, are you okay?” Piper asks, then shoots the Railroad agent a sharp glare.

“I had to fight him off for who knows how long so he wouldn’t worm his way into my memories and see me in any... interesting scenes. Then we sat and had a tea party. So yeah, it’s all good now.” She’s just glad that Kellogg didn’t get to delve into her thoughts and see any sexy scenes from last night. Or the one before that. “More importantly, I need to find some nerd named Brian Virgin in the Glowing Sea.” 

Piper blinks unsurely. “Is that his actual name?”

“I don’t know, that’s what Kellogg said his name was.” Snake looks around, walking slowly to the part of Kellogg’s brain that sits on the table. “To be truthful, I was taking in a lot of information. We can even get a head start, but I was just told that we’ll going to need a lot of resources to pull this off, so you guys had better start hoarding every hunk of junk in sight.”

“I don’t suppose you’ve got the Institute’s address and mail number, have you?” Deacon asks, although he knows it’s too good to be true.

“I’ll tell you everything I know, Deacon, just be patient.” Snake grabs what’s part of Kellogg’s brain with her hand and slams it to the ground. It hits the floor with a squish and she grinds the heel of her foot into it. She steps on it once and twice more for good measure.

Deacon’s face turns green and Piper thinks she just saw him try to swallow something that came up from his stomach.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” Amari asks her, sneering in disgust.

“I’ll clean that up.” Snake rubs the bottom of her shoe on the floor. She looks around, wincing at the rather nasty stain on the floor. “Anyone got a mop?”


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the summer semester of pre-law hell... I can't believe I survived you. Sorry it took me so long to update, but I'm back. Now that I've planned my courses this semester WAAAY better, I can finally resume my update schedule. Thank you for the patience!

“What? Why’s everyone making that face?” Snake asks, before she can even finish her sentence.

Nick bangs the side of his head with his metal hand. No one can really tell if he’s actually checking for any faults in his auditory systems or if it’s his attempt at humor, but on the other hand, Piper’s stumped expression clearly shows her hesitance.

“Blue, are you _sure_ he said this Brian Virgil is at the Glowing Sea?” Piper repeats her own words to her.

Snake nods surely. “Don’t tell me that Kellogg was fucking with me again. I’d kill him again, but three times is kind of too much. That, and we just scrubbed him off the floor, so I don’t think that’s an option anymore.” She washed her hands a lot, but she makes sure to wipe it on her pants again. Ew.

Doctor Amari was very much unhappy with having brain matter on her floor. They scrubbed and scrubbed until the floor looked like it wasn’t a part of Goodneighbor anymore.

“I’m afraid it’s nothing as humorous as that.” Nick says disgruntedly. For a synth who supposedly doesn’t feel exhaustion, there’s a tiredness to his normally strong voice as he opts to sit on the couch instead of joining the two women as they stand. “The Glowing Sea is a beacon of radiation. Virgil must be either mad or suicidal if he indeed went there to hide. Heck, you’d need a radiation suit to even venture inside the area.”

“Who knows what could be in there...” Piper rubs her chin and trails off for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.

Nick shrugs, his shoulders sagging like they bear heavy weights. “I’d turn into a rust bucket if I went too far inside. If you’ve noticed, the closer you get to the Glowing Sea, the more radioactive the critters get. I suppose that’s the reason I’ve never heard of anyone going into there and coming back out.”

“Oh, come on, Nick. It’ll be fun. We haven’t crossed out ‘camping’ from our friendship bucket list.” Snake’s feeble attempt at cutting the severity of their discussion falls flat. She sighs and quickly moves on. “Damn it, how am I gonna get to him without growing an extra arm along the way?”

Of course she’s seriously considering going there. “I hate to point this out, but have you thought about the slight possibility that Kellogg just wanted to fuck with you in the end and die with the entertaining thought of you disintegrating into nothing in a sea of radiation?” Nick asks in a very monotonous tone.

“Yeah, but it’s not like we have any other leads.” She answers simply. _And how could I sit back and do nothing again?_

The synth takes a moment to find an appropriate answer, but it never comes. Piper feels her chest being tugged in two separate directions. She’d want nothing more than to chalk all this up to Kellogg’s mysterious shenanigans, but then the trail would end right there. Another dead end.

“Radiation suits will protect you from radiation, but that’s just about the only thing they do.” Snake wonders out loud. She’s never been in one, but she’s fought people in them before and her bullets have always cut through the suits like a hot knife through butter. “Plus, they don’t exactly give you very good visibility. That’s bad news, especially in a radiation storm.”

Nick nods calmly. “If you get even one puncture on your suit, no amount of radaway is going to keep you alive long enough to get out.”

“God damn it, I wish I didn’t wreck that power armor.” Snake curses and sighs. She’s never been overly fond of the bulky suits and their complete uselessness for recon, but she could really use one now. The problem is that they weren’t common back during the pre-war days, and they’re even less common now.

“But what if you could get a new one?” The synth suggests, crossing his legs and tapping his mechanical fingers on the coffee table beside him. “Not those improvised ones raiders wear, those wouldn’t keep radiation out. But the ones those Brotherhood knights wear.”

“I really don’t think we can march up to them and ask if we can borrow one, Nick.” Piper would preferably stay very far away from them. Thankfully, their steps are so loud that she can quite easily strategize her routes to keep her away from their presence. Wherever a Brotherhood knight is, gunfire will follow, and she’s not nearly armored enough to be in the middle of the crossfire.

Especially not when the other part of the equation is either synths or super mutants.

“And swiping them won’t be easy, given that they weigh like a thousand pounds. But there’s got to be-” The door swings open before Snake can complete her rumination. She looks at the settler there, sweating and breathing hard. “Getting your cardio in for the day?”

“General, you have to listen to this.” He gulps down a lungful of air before he straightens his back and manages to talk properly. “We’re receiving a transmission. There’s some kind of emergency going on not too far away.”

“Do you know where it’s coming from, or anything else?” Snake swings her rifle onto her body and checks that she has enough ammo.

“The police department. The one that’s on the way to Diamond City.”

Piper freezes, and so does Nick. They’d just received a report that Brotherhood soldiers were seen around the area, and that they were setting up shop in the abandoned station.

“Thanks for the information. You did good.” Snake looks back at Piper and Nick, a glowing smirk on her face. She whistles and Dogmeat shoots to her side. “I’d say don’t follow me, but I know you will. Wait until the gunshots stop and just don’t be seen, alright? I think I know how we’re gonna get our hands on some good quality power armor...”

Piper sure hopes that her plan doesn’t involve killing a Brotherhood knight. Before she has the chance to ask any questions, the vault dweller races out and leaves them there alone. Discontent with falling too far behind, the reporter follows her trail once she’s sure her distance is far enough that she’s still able to keep a visual on the other woman while still keeping hidden.

She worries about the noise of her footsteps giving out her location until she hears the sound of gunshots from far away. Even from where they are, the sound of gnashing teeth and rabid groaning fills their ears. Snake’s immediate thought is of how useful her rifle will be, but then she skids to a stop.

The veteran slings the rifle off and puts it on the ground. She looks back at Piper and smiles impishly, motioning for her to stay put. She dashes away before either Nick or the reporter can ask what the hell she’s doing. By the time Piper picks up the gun from the concrete, slightly warm from the heat of the sun above, all that’s left is the dust that the other woman left behind her.

There are three gunmen, or were. One is lying on the ground with blood flowing from his thigh, while his female companion is dragging him inside the building. The only one left is a man with an unrivaled scowl that fires at the feral ghouls coming at them with disciplined precision with a laser rifle. The air is filled with the smell of burning flesh from the dead ones on the ground. He’s being driven back slowly but surely, his hulking power armor kicking up dirt and making rebounding booms with every step.

And that’s why Snake has never liked them. While she’s confident that the ferals’ rotting teeth would never be able to penetrate his armor, he also wouldn’t have had to fight them if the armor’s ruckus didn’t alert them to their presence in the first place. Nevertheless, it doesn’t change the fact that she needs one and that she’s going to get one.

The click of her flicking her pistol’s safety off is lost in the sea of noise. Her presence is only made known when she downs her first target. The ghouls that are closer to her turn around at the sudden noise, snarling angrily at her presence. One finds a knife lodged in it’s throat as it charges at her, and Snake wastes no time in methodically gunning down the other three before they get too close. The last one falls, it’s hand just barely reaching her boot.

The Brotherhood Knight frowns at her presence, but his eyes flit behind her and widen in alarm. A ghoul is racing at this woman’s back, but it’s directly behind her. He can’t shoot it without shooting her. “Behind-” He shouts his warning, but doesn’t get to complete it.

Snake swivels around and swings her combat knife in an upwards arc. It’s blade finds purchase in the gap between the feral’s jawbone and throat. Her momentum lifts the feral off the ground for a fraction of a moment, during which she kicks it’s withering body to the ground. It bounces once, then twice. The crunch that her boot makes tells her that it won’t be getting up. It tries to push itself off the ground and get back into the fight, but it’s torso sags to the ground despite the best efforts of it’s legs.

Snake effortlessly aims and fires a round into it’s head, which caves in to the force of her bullet. That wasn’t necessary, but no one ever said showing off was a particularly convenient thing to do.

“More incoming.” The knight tells her as he reloads his laser rifle. “Take point where you are. I’ll take the other side.”

So he’s obviously a top dog. He’s got to be, if he can issue orders so easily to someone he doesn’t know. _Good_ , Snake thinks. _Luck is on my side today_. It’s not her first time dealing with guys like these, after all.

Piper wipes her sweaty palm on her pants when she realizes that her grip on the rifle is starting to slip. Despite being told not to be seen, her hand can’t help but hover over her pistol as she wonders what she’s supposed to be seeing.

 _What are you up to?_ She almost speaks her thoughts out loud. As expected, the fight goes as smoothly as a well oiled machine. The reporter was slightly worried when she saw how close the vault dweller let the ghoul get before taking it out, but now she can see that the spring in her step has returned. Like a motor revving up for the first time in months, she begins taking the incoming ghouls out like fish in a barrel. After her shots hit, she begins weaving in and out of their way, testing the sharpness of her knife and how low she can dodge before having to roll and dirty her jacket. It’s not long before her knife’s arcs are gleaming blurs under the sun’s light, her trigger finger as steadfast as it ever was. Try as it might, but her blade can’t outshine the grin on her face by the time the last ghoul is on the ground.

The reporter has to hold in her sigh of relief. Snake is fine, after all. Curie remorsefully warned her that the brunette might not wake up at all, nevertheless make a full recovery. The smell of stimpaks and bloody bandages seeped into every crevice of the Publick until she started to dread the Nurse Handy being right. Piper is so lost in her thoughts that by the time she snaps out of her little reverie, she remembers that she’s supposed to be observing what’s happening. Try as she might to strain her ears, but she just can’t hear what Snake and the Brotherhood Knight is saying.

Paladin Danse furrows his eyebrows as he considers her story. “You say you’re a wanderer, but your skill says otherwise. I would be a fool to believe you.”

“Believe what you want. I helped you out, didn’t I? If you don’t buy my story, then fine. I’m just passing by to get some water at the lake. I’ll stay out of your way.” Snake shrugs dismissively, rolling her eyes dismissively. “Besides, I did help you, didn’t I? I could’ve just ignored you and left you to be ghoul chow.”

At that, he has nothing to say. He breathes out, relieving the tension in his jaw. He lowers his laser rifle.

“Anyway, it’s time for me to go. Boy, that fight got me thirsty.” Snake walks past him without a second glance, waving him goodbye as she heads to the lake’s direction.

“Wait.” That word doesn’t sound like it was said without doubt. Or curiosity.

Snake smiles to herself while her back is turned to him. _Jackpot_.

“I have some rations within the station. You are permitted to restock your water there, as thanks for your assist.” While his words pass through his lips not through gritted teeth, there’s still a guardedness to them that he almost manages to hide. “However, if you try and take more than what you are given, I cannot promise that you will walk away unscathed. Or at all.”

“Did anyone ever tell you that a ‘thank you’ kinda loses it’s essence when you add a threat in there somewhere?” Snake turns around with a cordial smile, giving him a shrug. “Anyway, thanks for saving me the trouble. I’m no thief and your rations aren’t under threat, I assure you.”

“It’s simply ritual for me to issue the warning, wanderer.” Danse almost smiles. Almost. “I know you’re not a thief.”

Snake cocks her head to the side curiously. “And what makes you say that?”

Experience is the greatest teacher, and he’s learned that heads held that high and shoulders that square don’t belong to thieves. “Thieves don’t fight. They only run.” He leaves it at that.

Piper finally pokes her head out when she hears them walking. She’s fairly surprised to see Snake walking into the station with the man. While the veteran doesn’t look back to meet her eyes, her hand gestures for her to leave.

After all that’s happened, it’s not hard for Snake to keep a fairly straight face as she walks into the police station. The last time she was here, it smelled of expensive cigars and the ever present scent of coffee. She had just cozied up to her new altered uniform and gotten used to the existence of free coffee when the damn nuclear war broke out. So much for getting used to wearing blue instead of army greens.

The formerly neatly piled files are strewn across the floor now, either burnt or too yellowed to read anymore. Not that the chief is here to blow up at any rookies about careful record keeping.

Snake fills her canteen full of the purified water that’s become more valuable than any amount of bottlecaps nowadays. She stands up, carefully screws the lid on, and feels the glares on her back grow sharper. “Thank you for the water.” She courteously says, without turning around.

The injured soldier on the ground grunts in pain as the Brotherhood scribe tends to his injured leg. “Paladin Danse, is this really necessary?”

Danse directs a disapproving look to the man. “Hold your tongue, Knight Rhys. This is the least we can do for her. The Brotherhood always repays it’s debts.”

“This stray dog isn’t worth losing supplies over.” Rhys mutters under his breath, huffing indignantly.

Had she been the same young woman she was years ago, still unable to fold her clothes properly in boot camp, she would have knocked a tooth or two out from his jaw. Now, she simply turns around to look at the injured man so he can see her utterly unimpressed look.

“Enough, Rhys.” Danse narrows his eyes as he barks out his order. The coldness in his words is enough to make any recruit break out into a sweat. “This woman fought better than you did out there. You volunteered for this expedition and you were careless enough to be caught off guard, and now I’ll have to venture forth to complete our objective with no backup whatsoever.”

And that’s the opening she was looking for. “You said you were the Brotherhood of Steel? What are you doing here?”

“If you’re asking about me specifically, then that information is classified.” Danse says without remorse. He gives her a suspicious look, and so does Haylen and Rhys. “Why do you want to know?”

Snake gives him a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t know. Just curious.” She elaborates further upon seeing the three unconvinced faces before her. “There’s not a lot for me to do other than take the same old jobs to put some food on the table, y’know? Suddenly, you guys come into the neighborhood...”

“You risked your life to help us out of curiosity.” Danse paraphrases her words back to her, voice dripping with skepticism.

“No, not really. I already know what you guys do.” Well, that’s a half truth. She gives them her winning smile. “At least now I’m not the only one doing stuff around here. So why not help you out? It’s not like I don’t shoot ferals and super mutants on the daily, anyway.”

Danse stays quiet for a while as he retreats into his thoughts. Rhys and Haylen both seem like they’re ready to speak their thoughts, but they look to the paladin and have enough respect to let him speak first. “That is indeed explanatory for your abilities. However, if you’re planning to stay alive, stop those outlandish movements that you are prone to. Combat is a situation where you need to be practical.”

Snake guesses that at least she managed to impress him. Kind of.

“However, that does not change the fact that you have shown your proficiency.” He side-eyes Rhys with a small frown. “I have an offer for you, one that will earn you significant compensation should you carry it through.”

There it is. She raises both her eyebrows to feign surprise and interest. “Are we going to go on a road trip together? I’ve always wanted to go to Nevada...”

Danse doesn’t even crack a smile. “Because Rhys is injured, I have no backup for this mission, and it is crucial for me to not go alone. Of course, you will be forbidden from speaking of this day or you will be silenced.”

Snake almost rolls her eyes at his threat. “I didn’t stay alive this long by not knowing how to shut up. Client confidentiality is a thing I like to maintain.”

The Paladin nods and appears satisfied. While Snake didn’t think it would be this easy to convince him, she’s sure that it’s just because he’s more desperate than he’s prepared to show. “As long as you keep your tongue wrangled, we will remain amicable. I will have to disclose that there will be ample danger involved.”

“Isn’t that the best part?” She smiles innocently, holding out her hand in a show of good faith. “It’s a deal, then.”

Danse shakes it strongly, the metal almost hurting her hand. Although his hand is encased in his power armor, Snake is certain that it would be equally as firm without it.

Snake has been told before that she doesn’t move like she ever wore a military uniform. The comment by a former bunkmate wasn’t said in ill will. While her movements are still swift and efficient, the discipline having been ingrained into the fibers of her bones, she has to admit that she does carry herself more casually than anyone else in uniform. She’s grateful for that trait now, because she can feel Danse’s eyes on her all the way to their destination and she would definitely raise some questions if her body language betrayed her story.

It’s how she immediately identified the man as a member of the Brotherhood, after all. He talks, looks, and breathes like a soldier.

“Eyes on the target, big man.” She says after they drop the last raider to the ground, effortlessly reloading her pistol. “If I stab you in the back, I don’t get paid and I’ll get a pretty nasty reputation around here. Pinkie promise, I’ll help you get what you’re looking for.”

Danse huffs, clearly not taking her word for it. “I will give you trust when you earn it.”

He refuses to make any small talk after that. It’s disappointing, but understandable. She’s seen it in countless other men with missions that they simply can’t fail. He only speaks to tell her to fall in line and follow orders and to be careful inside. The next time he says anything, it’s when they find the remnants of two protectrons after their entry into the facility.

“Synths ahead.” Snake mutters under her breath, upon noticing the lack of casings. Laser guns would at least leave cells behind.

Danse seems surprised by her observation. “Indeed.” He grimly agrees, keeping it curt.

And Snake thought no one could be more of a hard-ass than her former drill sergeant. Suppressing a sigh, she keeps her footsteps light as she follows behind the hulking man, wondering if it’s a step even worth taking. No one would be able to miss the power armor’s thundering booms. She also can’t say that she likes being kept on a short leash like this, but it’s almost nostalgic. She feels like a fresh recruit again, making trouble and being disciplined with an extra twenty push ups with every stupid mistake she makes.

Too bad she’s past being nostalgic.

The morning after, Piper awakens to the sound of the Publick’s door softly closing. She yawns and rubs her eyes when she barely hears the sound of footsteps lightly walking up her stairs, smiling sleepily when she sees Snake standing with her jacket folded under her arm.

The woman’s hair is a disheveled mess and soot is smeared over her face. The smell of ash and cinders linger on her clothing. “You look like you had a rough day.” She tells her, her voice still soft from tiredness.

“You can be honest, babe. I know I look like shit.” Snake chuckles lightly, wasting no time before she pulls her shirt off and discards it on the ground. She lets out a tired sigh as she undoes her belt and lets her pants fall to the ground, opening the drawer and finding the old cloth she uses to wash herself. It’s dyed in a faded rusty color from the sheer amount of blood Piper had to clean from her every day after their fight with Kellogg and no amount of washing will make it go away.

It’s not in great shape, but it works. That’s what matters to her.

“You looked good today.” Piper absentmindedly tells her, her head still foggy from sleep. She turns and rests her chin on her hand, watching the older woman dip the cloth in a bucket of water and wipe the grime from her body. “Uh, your form, I mean.” She quickly adds.

“It’s fine, Piper. You have a thing for watching me clean myself. I know.” Snake gives her a wide, dimpled smile. On a more serious note, her smile fades a bit just from the exhaustion that’s starting to seep in. She saw that Nat had left for school and that the vendors were already setting up when she came inside, but she hasn’t slept a wink. “It’s like the entire thing never happened, huh?”

Not really. The reporter’s eyes are starting to adjust to the dark. That means she’s starting to see the jagged scars on the vault dweller’s face. “I don’t think I could ever forget about that.” She smiles thinly, looking at her own scar on her shoulder. She didn’t even start feeling that wound until hours after she got it. She was so caught up in making sure Snake was just alive enough.

“How’s it feeling?” The veteran asks her as she runs the cloth along the grooves of her shoulderblades.

“Oh, this?” Piper yawns again, but she moves herself to a sitting position just so she won’t be able to fall asleep mid conversation. She can hear the water dripping from the cloth in the other woman’s hand and falling back into the bucket. “A bit numb. It’s weird, though... sometimes I find myself touching it and...” She trails off.

“The nerve endings are screwed, but you feel the pain again.” She finishes her sentence for her, smiling wryly and dropping the cloth in the bucket of water as she makes her way to the bed. Piper’s eyes flit towards the assortment of scarring on her face, wondering if that’s what it feels like for her all the time. “And you only know it’s all in your head because you can’t feel yourself touching it, only that throbbing, dull sting that’s under your skin.”

“I couldn’t have described it better myself.” Piper gently lays the back of her hand on Snake’s face as she slides into bed and comes close enough for her to reach. Her touch is light like she’s holding thin glass instead of a flesh and blood woman, one who’s survived the unimaginable. She can feel the warm, rough patch of skin stretch as a smile makes it’s way to her face. “Is it still like that for you?” She softens her voice and continues to stroke her cheek.

“Not anymore.” Snake chuckles and gives her an tired, but still impish grin. “Well, I know how into them you are. That kinda helped...”

“Shut up, Blue, you don’t know that.” Piper smirks and gives her a small kiss before resting her head in the crook of her neck.

“Am I wrong?” 

“Not really.” Piper’s response is muffled. She’s about to close her eyes again until she remembers something important. “Oh yeah, I can’t believe I didn’t ask sooner. Did you get the power armor?”

“Not today, but I will soon.” Snake yawns. “And if I’m right, I’m gonna get a nice one too.”

The reporter considers that answer for a moment. “Blue, how are you planning on doing that?”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy.” She warns her.

“I already know you are.” The black haired woman thoughtfully reminds her. “We wouldn’t even be together if we weren’t both a bit nutty, remember?”

“Touche.” She sees her point and nods in agreement. “Alright, so I have a plan and it’s already in place. I’m going to become a Brotherhood Knight and get a power armor-” 

“ _What_?” Piper’s eyes snap wide open and she sits up, nearly headbutting the veteran right in the chin. She turns to her and looks at her like she grew an extra head. “Blue, I have trust in you but you _really_ shouldn’t mess with the Brotherhood. They don’t really do the whole forgive and forget thing.”

“I’m getting to that part.” Snake attempts to soothe her. She shifts uncomfortably as she explains further, looking more than a little guilty at the idea. “And then I’m going to ‘die’. They’ll never find me, and all I need to do is never run into that Paladin again or else he’ll probably be super upset.”

Piper thinks the plan through. It seems sound on the surface, but so many things could go wrong here.

Snake gives her a sheepish grin. “I’ve played this trick before, but I can see your face. I can assure you that I definitely did not think this through.”

The reporter pinches the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming. “It’s okay, we’ve got time to figure this out. There’s got to be a better way.”

“Uh... about that...” Snake coughs into her hand. “I’m supposed to have a trial for them to see if I’ve got what it takes to be a knight. And it’s tomorrow.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did Snake convince Danse to knight her so soon? You will find out in the next chapter. 
> 
> Hint: It's lies. She did it with lies.


End file.
